No One Special
by Rain Harmonia
Summary: When her father dies, Kalama Iekika is left to fend for herself in the streets of Hau'oli City. But it's a lot tougher than she expected, so when Team Skull comes around on a recruiting trip and picks her up, she decides to give being part of the gang a shot. Life still isn't easy for her though.
1. Chapter 1

**No One Special  
**

 **Chapter 1**

 _LDR: Umm...yeah. I should probably be posting a chapter of Unova's Downfall, cause I really do owe the next one, but my muse hates me. So this is a thing instead. Call it a celebration of Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon coming out this month? Who's excited for that, by the way? Definitely me!_

 _Alright, let's get the disclaimer out of the way. This applies to the entire story. I don't own Pokemon (if I did, Team Rocket would be ruling everything by now, let's face it). The only things I do own are my ideas and my characters._

* * *

Hau'oli City. A bright, bustling place. Its people might have their ups and downs, but they overall led happy lives. Most of them anyway. Like every city, Hau'oli City had its slums. In these slums, curled up at the back of a narrow, dead-end alleyway, was a teenage girl. Malnutrition shrunk her sunburnt skin so it clung to her bones. Tangled and filthy dark hair draped over her body like a blanket. Beside her was a slightly less starved Rockruff. He was awake, staring at his unconscious companion, watching the weak rise and fall of her chest. It was very, very gradually growing fainter. He had to do something.

It took an enormous amount of effort, but the Rockruff managed to lift his head and force out a weak, rasping bark. The sound echoed in the alley, bouncing back and forth off the walls and being amplified so that the sound that actually exited the alley was louder than the one that had initially been made. But it faded into silence. The canine whimpered, then barked again. This time there was an answer. A silhouette appeared at the alleyway's entrance, a female voice calling out a name. Another silhouette appeared behind the first, and the two moved towards the unconscious girl and the Pokemon. Rockruff's tail twitched against the pavement, wagging slightly as one of the people picked up the girl and the other person picked him up. He relaxed in their arms, having fulfilled his duty, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Empty wrappers and dirty bowls and plates littered the floor around the bed where Kalama sat, her back against the wall and her Rockruff curled up in her lap. She reached for the small pile of cheap snacks that had been laid beside her, tearing open a bag of chips. She crunched through its contents, her strange yellow eyes fixed on the Pokemon in her lap. Over a week had passed since she'd been picked up by the notorious Team Skull, a week that had been spent resting and eating, recovering from nearly starving to death. Or so she'd been told. Her memory of the last couple weeks was hazy at best. This was, apparently, the first time after her arrival that she'd been awake and actually lucid. Which was probably why she had the visitors that she did. They'd introduced themselves as Guzma, the boss of the gang, and Plumeria, his second in command, so Kalama was feeling understandably intimidated.

She peeked their way, looking through a curtain of her dark hair. Someone had washed and brushed it while she was out of it. That act of kindness didn't at all fit with what she'd heard about these people. "How'd I get here? Where is here?" she finally asked, breaking the silence that had blanketed the room.

"You're in Po Town, on Ula'ula Island."

" _Ula'ula Island?_ " She stared at Guzma, until motion from her lap drew her gaze downward. She had jolted in surprise at the reveal of her location, and in doing so had accidentally jolted Rockruff awake. The Pokémon yawned, looked up at her, and wagged his tail. She grabbed a granola bar from the snack pile, tore off the wrapper, and broke the bar into pieces to feed to him. Watching Rockruff eat, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach and grabbed another snack for herself, wolfing it down. Then she looked back to Guzma and Plumeria, the latter waiting much more patiently than the former. "But Hau'oli City ain't on Ula'ula Island. It's on Melemele Island. Why'd I get taken here?"

"Po Town's our base of operations." Plumeria had answered that time.

"Then why were you in Hau'oli City?"

"Recruiting," Plumeria replied. "Looking for people like you. Lucky you've got that Rockruff or I wouldn't have found you. Heard him barking."

So Rockruff had saved her. Normally this would be the point that Kalama gave him all the cuddles and pets he could want and told him what a good boy he was, but Rockruff's solution to their plight had been to let Team Skull take her. "So what're you gonna do with me?" These were the leaders of a notorious gang of thugs. There were so many awful things that could happen to her now that they had her. Did they want to ransom her? Would they kill her and dump her body into a ditch when they found out she had no family to pay a ransom? Were they into trafficking?

Guzma came closer, reaching towards her. Kalama closed her eyes and hugged Rockruff, pressing herself back against the wall. Sensing her distress, Rockruff wiggled out of her arms and growled a warning. A hand came down on her head. Surprisingly gently. She peeked up at the man through one open eye. "We're gonna get you a uniform."

"You're scaring her, Guzma. Back off."

He snorted but stepped back. Kalama relaxed a little bit, staring at both of them, baffled. "Gonna what?"

"You wanna go back to starving in Hau'oli City?" Guzma demanded. Kalama shook her head. "Right. That's what Team Skull is for. Plumeria and I, we take care of kids like you who don't got a place to go."

"You ain't gonna hurt me?"

"Hurt ya? The Distortion World kinda people you think we are, kid?"

Uh-oh. He sounded kind of angry. She grabbed Rockruff, hugging the Pokémon close again. "W-Well...it's a gang, ain't it?"

"It's a family. Big, crazy family full of troubled kids," Plumeria cut in. "So yeah, sometimes we do things the public doesn't like. But they make us out to be worse than we are."

"Well why you want me to be in it? I ain't no one special."

"You were all curled up in an alley, dying of hunger, when I found you." Plumeria's hands went to her hips as she gave Kalama a hard stare. "You obviously got no home, no family, no way to get food. We're trying to give you all of that. You want it or not?"

"Yeah, I want it. But you're just gonna give it to me? Or you want me to do something for it?"

"Just gonna give it to you. Too many kids in Alola that got no family, or no good family, or are just troubled. Team Skull's supposed to help them. Give them what they need."

Kalama went silent, thinking about that. These people were a lot nicer than she'd expected. Were they really this nice though? Maybe they were fooling her. Then she thought about the pile of food on the bed beside her, the way that someone had taken care of her hair while she was out of it, how gently Guzma had patted her head. Well...Rockruff seemed at ease. "Okay. Ain't like I got someplace to go to. I'll join." Anything had to be better than starving on the streets.

There was an excited muttering from the other side of the closed door. Guzma yanked it open. It swung inward, and three people fell into the room with it. Guzma scowled at them. "What've I told you little shits about sneaking around?"

Looking undaunted, one of the three jumped to his feet, swiping a chocolate bar from the floor where he'd just been laying. "Luka said how she came in almost dead. We got her something to help her feel better. Heard she was finally awake."

Kalama was barely listening, her gaze directed towards something behind the trio. With the way her bed was placed, she could see out into the hall. When the door had been opened, she'd caught sight of someone with blond hair quickly slipping around the corner. He had glanced over his shoulder, meeting her gaze with one green eye, the other being covered by his bangs. Then he was gone. She looked down at Rockruff, fondling one of his ears. The chocolate bar landed on the bed in front of her and she took her attention away from the happy canine, watching Guzma usher the three strangers out the door. Then he followed them. "Get her settled, Plumeria." The door closed.

"What's your name?"

"Kalama Iekika."

"Wanna talk about how you ended up alone?"

Kalama looked down at Rockruff again. "Just...got no family. Mom died when I was born. My Dad had a bad leg, so he couldn't walk to work. Had to drive. But we were poor, so our car was real old. Brakes barely worked. One day, he was coming home. Brakes failed, and the car crashed. He didn't survive. I had no other family to go to and I ain't going into a foster home. So me and Rockruff, we tried to make do. But I couldn't get a job, and food was hard to get." She reached for the chocolate bar, unwrapping it and taking a bite. "I thought maybe Tapu Koko would show up. Help me out somehow. I'd always worshipped the Tapus like everyone else. Went to every festival in Iki Town to honor Tapu Koko, even if I didn't feel good. Me and Rockruff, we even won battles a few times. Tapu Koko never came. Why ain't our guardians looking out for us?"

Plumeria frowned. "There's a lot of people here who coulda used help from the Tapus but got jack shit." She gestured towards Rockruff. "Got a Pokeball for him? I couldn't find one when I picked you up."

"Dad said no wasting money on something like a Pokeball. Ain't ever needed one for Rockruff anyway. He was a stray that I started feeding, and he's stuck around since."

"You're gonna have to get a Pokeball for him. I'll get one for you. Don't worry, you don't have to keep him in it all the time. But you've gotta have one. You're gonna need a uniform too. Think you're strong enough to walk around?"

"Maybe." Kalama gently pushed Rockruff off her lap, then pulled the sheet to the side to free her legs. She swung them over the side of the bed, bare feet meeting the floor, and carefully stood up. She took a hesitant step. Then another. She had only made it halfway across the room when her legs gave out. Luckily, Plumeria was there to catch her before she hit the floor.

"Get back in bed," she commanded, helping the teen move back towards the bed. As she did, she tugged back first the back of Kalama's shirt collar, then the waistband of her jeans, checking the size tags. "You stay here and rest. I'll come back with a uniform and a Pokeball."

"Okay." Kalama collapsed back onto the bed. Rockruff, looking concerned, snuggled up to her and began to lick her face. She scratched his rump, watching as Plumeria left. This time when the door opened, the hallway was empty. Once the door closed and she heard footsteps fade into silence, she looked at Rockruff. "Hope you know what you're doing. You're the one that led them to me. If this ain't good, I'm blaming you," she muttered. He yipped, and she smiled, reaching for another snack from the pile. She wasn't sure why, but she had a feeling her life was going to be better from this point on. She still wasn't sure what to make of Team Skull, but at least now she had a roof over her head, a bed to sleep in, and food to eat. And, she supposed, people to talk to.

And really, after knowing what it was like to have none of that, she couldn't be more grateful to have it all. Maybe being in a gang would turn out to be a lot of fun. The people didn't seem bad at all, so far. Some complete strangers had even went and gotten her a chocolate bar to help her feel better. "Our lives are gonna be a lot different from now on, Rockruff," she whispered, kissing the Pokemon's head and smiling.

* * *

 _LDR: Right. There's the first chapter. Soo...not much to say here. Oh, this will be a SYOC story. That's a submit your own character story for anyone who doesn't know. The submission form will be up in the second chapter. If it isn't there it's because submissions are closed._

 _Oh, hold on. So I'm a firm believer that the Pokemon world is entirely separate from Earth, so religion is obviously gonna be a bit different, yeah? Now I'm not a particularly religious person, so there won't really be much religion brought up in this fic, but there will be some parallels between Pokemon religion and Christianity. Such as Arceus = God, the Distortion World = Hell, etc. Now I'm not saying that Arceus is the same as God, or that the Distortion World is the same as Hell. But if someone says something along the lines of "For the love of Arceus" or "What the Distortion World" it would be like someone from our world saying "For the love of God" or "What the Hell". I know Christianity has no relation to Pokémon whatsoever but it's what I'm most familiar with so it's what I'm using._

 _Well, I hope everyone enjoyed the start. Drop a review. It would be appreciated. LDR out!_


	2. Chapter 2

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 2**

 _LDR: Geez, you guys sure stuffed up my inbox quickly. Not that it's any problem. You're the best. All of you._

 _Megan Kendall (guest reviewer), thank you for submitting but I'm afraid you didn't give me enough to work with. 'Loves Pokemon' tells me nothing about your character's demeanor towards other people, for example. Updates were also made to the SYOC form to include Pokémon's genders and Abilities. If you still want your character to be featured, please redo your submission with more detail and the updated template._

 _Alright, with that let's get on to the story! Maybe we'll meet some characters this chapter whose names don't end in -a.  
_

* * *

Except for Plumeria stopping by to drop off a uniform, an empty Pokeball, and a plastic bag full of more snacks, along with an order to stay in bed, resting and recovering, Kalama was left alone for the rest of the day. She glanced over the uniform. Hat, bandana, tank top, shorts, even a pair of shoes. Everything was black and white. She would try it on later. She grabbed a pack of cookies in one hand, and the empty Pokeball in the other, stuffing a cookie into her mouth as she held the capsule out to the Pokémon. He sniffed at it, then touched his nose to the button. The Pokeball shook a few times then clicked, and Kalama instantly let Rockruff back out and set the Pokeball aside.

When the next day arrived, a new face arrived with it. Kalama was about to start her breakfast (a bag of potato chips and two granola bars) when the door to her room was flung open. She froze, a potato chip already halfway to her mouth, and stared at the young woman who had entered, holding a makeshift tray made of a garbage can lid with a plate of pancakes, a small bottle of syrup, and a cup of pinap juice on it. Hanging from the wrist of her other hand was a plastic bag. "Put that chip down." The stranger shut the door behind her, but not before Kalama caught a glimpse of a few curious faces straining to get a peek into the room.

The newcomer's skin was pink with sunburn, the shade nearly matching that of the tips of her brown hair, which was pulled back in a messy bun. Wide set light brown eyes fixed on the teen (the stranger herself looked like she might be somewhere in her early twenties) as the woman came closer, a smile on her freckled face. Her friendliness did nothing to distract Kalama from the small scar above her lip or the fact that the woman looked to be several inches taller than she was. A little intimidated, mostly because she still didn't know what to expect from these people, she dropped the chip back into the bag and obediently set it aside. The lid-tray was set down in front of her, the clatter of a fork and knife being jostled against the plate waking Rockruff. He yawned, then came to investigate the pancakes, only to be gently shooed away by the woman. "Those are for Kalama. I have Pokémon food for you," she scolded, lifting him off the bed and setting him down on the floor where she busied herself with preparing the contents of the plastic bag.

"You...know my name?"

"Most of Skull does by now. It's not often we get a nearly dead recruit. You've caused a bit of a stir. My name is Eleanora, by the way, but you can just call me Nora if you'd like." Kalama picked up the fork and poked at a pancake. "You have to eat more than just cheap junk food. Rockruff shouldn't be eating that at all. I had Wolf run out to snag something a bit better for you two." She stood up, leaving Rockruff eating enthusiastically from a bowl filled with Pokémon food and oran berries. In one hand was held a half empty carton of the blue fruits. This was set down on the lid-tray. "I didn't know if you'd want syrup so I just brought the bottle."

"Thanks." Ignoring the syrup, Kalama stabbed the fork into the center of the pancake stack and set about cutting them into bite sized pieces.

"You should change into the uniform when you're done. The clothes you're wearing need a good washing. Or maybe a burning." Kalama didn't answer, too busy stuffing her face with pieces of pancake and oran berries. "I love your hair, by the way. It's so thick."

"Ain't great for Alola's weather. But never had the money to get it cut professionally and I sure as Distortion World wasn't gonna try myself," Kalama replied as she paused her eating to reach for the cup of juice.

"It sure was hard to brush though."

"You're the one who did my hair?"

"I was." Silence came to the room as Kalama went back to eating. After a moment, Nora gestured to the bed. "Can I sit?"

"Go ahead," came the reply, distorted by Kalama's mouth full of food. As Nora sat down on the edge of the bed, the strap of her tank top slipped down, revealing a strip of pale, pale skin. The teen paused, watching Nora fix the strap. "You ain't from Alola, are you? Too pale."

"You're right. I was born in Snowpoint City. It's in Sinnoh."

"Sinnoh's real far from here, ain't it? Why you here?"

"My family moved to Po Town when I was sixteen. They left when Team Skull moved in, but I stayed. And I joined the team."

"You coulda gone with your family." Rockruff finished eating and jumped up onto the bed to cuddle up to Kalama. "Why'd you stay to join a gang? Doubt your family's happy about this."

Nora smiled faintly. "You're right. They don't like what I've done. But there's a lot of kids in Team Skull. Teenagers. I wanted to help them. And I doubted Guzma and Plumeria could handle them all on their own." She reached for the lid-tray, seeing Kalama's empty plate and cup, then picked up the bowl Rockruff had been eating out of. It, too, was empty. "Change into your uniform while I take care of these. Make sure everything fits alright, and I'll see if your clothes can be salvaged."

"Salvaged?"

"Saved. Able to be worn again. Let me guess, no school?" Kalama shook her head and Nora 'tsk'd softly. "You aren't the only Skull, don't worry. I doubt you'll be the last. I'll be back in a few minutes." Nora left, taking the remnants of Kalama and Rockruff's breakfasts with her.

"She was nice," Kalama noted as she petted Rockruff's head, looking at the uniform. After a moment, she carefully stood up, undressing herself to pull on the uniform. The bandana was left hanging around her neck like she'd seen with Nora and the three who had brought her a chocolate bar yesterday, though she guessed by how loose it was that it could also be pulled up over her face. "Everyone's been nice so far. I'm still waiting to see why everyone says Team Skull is so awful." She grabbed the opened bag of chips that she'd been about to eat before Nora had arrived with pancakes. Speaking of Nora...

"It looks like the uniform fits."

Kalama turned towards the door to find it open, with the woman standing there. She smiled faintly at Nora. "Shoes are a bit too big."

"Well we can fix that. You sit down on the bed. I'll go find a smaller pair." Nora held out her hand. Kalama slipped off her shoes and handed them over, along with her old clothes. Nora left again, but this time the door remained open. It didn't take long for someone else to show up.

"You're looking a lot better than when Plums and I found you." Leaning against the doorframe was a boy of maybe seventeen or eighteen. He tilted his head as he studied her, and his hat fell off. Grumbling under his breath, he swiped it off the floor and jammed it back down over his wild mane of black hair. Friendly green eyes met her uncertain yellow ones. "Though it has been a week. Been eating a lot?"

"Y-Yeah."

"Good. Sooner you're recovered, sooner you can start contributing. Name's Luka. No need to introduce yourself. I already know who you are."

Rockruff had gone tense as Kalama's side. When she tried to calm him down by tickling his ruff, she was surprised to find the vibrations of a silent growl rising within his throat. Silently wondering at the reason why her Pokémon was now so ill at ease around someone who had, apparently, been one of the two that had picked her and Rockruff up, she asked, "Contributing?"

"Team Skull isn't a charity. Everyone's gotta do their part to make sure we all survive. I know it's not your fault that you're laying around and eating right now, but don't expect to be able to do it for much longer. Ever stolen before?" She shook her head. "Arceus above, no wonder you were dying when we found you. Don't worry. You'll get taught by someone. Probably Wolf. He's one of our best. Kleptomaniacs tend to be. Practice makes perfect and all that."

"Luka, get out. Kalama needs to be resting." Nora had returned, dropping a new pair of shoes by Kalama before turning to shoo Luka out, closing the door behind him. "Your clothes were too far gone, I'm afraid. We'll find spares for you, don't worry. Try these shoes on, though."

"I'm tired of laying in bed. I did it all day yesterday. I wanna go out and look around," Kalama said as she slid the new shoes on. They fit well enough.

"You're recovering from nearly dying, Kalama."

"I'm boooored. So's Rockruff. He likes being outside and I do too."

Nora crossed her arms, one foot tapping gently against the floor. "Stay in bed and rest this morning. If I decide you seem up for it, I'll show you around a bit after lunch, okay?"

"Okay!"

"Good. I'll be back with lunch around noon. I'll get a few of the Grunts to take turns standing outside your door. They'll make sure no one bothers you, and if you need anything, they'll help you out. Now, shoes off. Hat and bandana too, unless you want to sleep in them?" Kalama shook her head. "Didn't think so. Try to take a nap between now and lunch. Bye for now!" And out the door Nora went again. Kalama flopped down onto the bed, grabbing another bag of chips, these ones barbecue flavored. She was in for a long morning...

* * *

 _LDR: Alright. So...OCs. Luka is mine. Eleanora/Nora belongs to Lillian Jade. And Wolf, who has only been mentioned but not met yet, belongs to W. R. Winters. I think that's all for now. Feel free to drop a review with your thoughts about the story. LDR out!_


	3. Chapter 3

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 3**

 _LDR: Y'all must think I don't have a life outside of writing for you. Three chapters in less than three days? What is this witchcraft? Yeah, for anyone who doesn't know, this is pretty unusual for me._

 _Holy crap guys, this has been up for less than 48 hours and I had to close the character submissions because I have so many. To everyone who managed to submit a character in time: You're the best. Really._

* * *

Kalama stayed in bed all that morning, moving no more than was necessary to feed herself from the rapidly dwindling pile of snacks. There was a busted looking clock on the wall that she had been assured still worked accurately. So she laid there as she ate and she watched the hands tick ever closer to noon.

It was shortly after eleven that disaster struck.

Her eating had been constant. There was never a period longer than five minutes that she wasn't chewing something. If any more time than that went by, she began to feel as she had back on the streets of Hau'oli City, starving to the point of near death. She knew she wasn't actually hungry, and she'd tried to tough it out, but when the sharp spikes of pain began to drive her to tears, she had decided that enough was enough. Unfortunately, her stomach couldn't keep up. As soon as she'd felt the urge rising, Kalama had clamped her hands over her mouth and fought with the bedsheet to get up and make a dash for the door. She didn't get far before it became impossible to hold back. Dropping her hands away from her mouth, she hugged herself and doubled over, emptying the partially digested contents of her stomach onto the floor. Rockruff watched from the bed, whimpering. At one point, the door slammed open, the sound followed by a male voice for someone to "Go get Nora," before the speaker hurried over to the retching teen and laid a hand on her back.

Once her stomach had finally quit its violent upheaval, Kalama straightened up, trembling from head to toe. "Aw man, that's nasty. Hey, you're shaking. Come on and sit down." She looked at the male, doing a double take as she took in his appearance. Short stature, shoulder length blonde hair, nothing too odd about that. But his skin was even paler than Nora's, and his eyes were a light red color. And in addition to the Team Skull uniform, he was wearing a lot of rings, plus an unfamiliar wooden necklace. He helped her back over to the bed, where she sat down gratefully.

"Thanks. Sorry 'bout the mess..."

"Don't worry about it. Someone'll clean it up." Kalama nodded, looking down as something bumped her leg. Whatever it was, it was covered by a yellow rag with a face scribbled on, a wooden tail sticking out from beneath the rag. Curious, she leaned down, reaching for a corner of the rag. The male grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Don't you know the legends? Looking under a Mimikyu's cloth will kill you."

She yanked her hand back. "I know the story. Just didn't know it was a Mimikyu. Ain't ever seen one before. Yours?"

"Yeah, she's mine. My best friend. Right, Mimikyu?" The Pokémon responded with a happy sound. "Oh, I'm Akalani. Some people call me Grim, cause I'm into the occult. You can call me whichever. Your name's Kalama, right?"

"Yeah. Uh...c-can I ask about..."

"Why I'm so white? Albinism."

"I was going to say your necklace."

"No you weren't."

"You some kinda psychic?"

"I don't need to be. Everyone asks."

"I still wanna know 'bout your necklace. What's that Pokémon on it?"

"It's Giratina."

"What happened here?" Nora was standing in the doorway, looking between the pile of partially-digested food on the floor, the sea of snack wrappers and bags around the base of the bed, and then finally Kalama herself. "What have you been doing? Eating constantly since breakfast?" Kalama nodded. "You should have stopped once you weren't hungry. Akalani, would you mind cleaning that up?"

"Help a bro out, Mimikyu?" Akalani stood. A shadowy hand emerged from beneath the rag, clutching at it as if Akalani were going to take it off the Pokémon and use it to mop up the mess. He chuckled. "I'm going to get paper towels, don't worry. Come on." The two of them left the room.

Nora closed the door once they were gone, coming to sit on the edge of the bed next to Kalama. The woman reached out to fondle one of Rockruff's ears. "Why didn't you stop when you got full?"

"I tried. But if there ain't something getting chewed up every few minutes, I start feeling like I'm starving again, no matter how much I ate. I tried to ignore it, honest, but it hurt so bad. Sorry..."

Nora slung an arm around the teen's shoulders. "It might take you a while to get over your experience. But we can't have you throwing up every few hours because you're eating too much." She smiled. "But I think I have an idea. You don't need to actually eat something, do you? Just chew?"

"Far as I can tell."

"I'll send somebody to get you a few packs of gum. Will that work?"

"Gum? Maybe. Guess we can try."

Akalani chose that moment to return. "You want gum? I got a pack on me. I can spare a piece." He set the roll of paper towels he was carrying onto the floor, pulled a pack of mint gum out of his pocket, and tossed it towards the two females. Nora reached out to catch it, pulling out a piece and handing it to Kalama. The teen muttered her thanks and stuck it in her mouth. Nora threw the pack back to Akalani, who snatched it out of the air and put it back in his pocket. Then he turned to Mimikyu, who had grabbed a wad of paper towels and was using them to poke at the edge of the mess on the floor. "Let me help you out." He grabbed a wad of his own and squatted down.

"I can help."

"Bed," Nora said firmly, laying a firm hand on Kalama's shoulder and pushing lightly. Sighing, Kalama changed her position from sitting on the edge of the bed to laying down on it. Rockruff came over to curl up against her side. "Is the gum working out for you?"

"So far. But it ain't been long enough to tell. Do I still get a tour this afternoon?"

Nora shook her head as she knelt down to help Akalani clean up. "No. I think you need to keep resting."

"But Nora! It's family movie night! She can't come? I'll carry her if she can't walk," Akalani protested. "We're even watching The Pyroar King!"

"I ain't ever seen The Pyroar King before. I wanna watch it," Kalama said.

Nora put her hands on her hips, thinking it over. "We'll see how you're feeling after dinner, alright?"

"Alright." Kalama sat up, grabbing the pillow and propping it up against the wall, then leaned back against it. "Lemme guess. You want me to sit around and do nothing some more."

"You're recovering from a near death experience, Kalama. We don't have anyone with real medical experience here, so we have be very careful when someone is recovering from an injury or, in your case, from a near death experience. No one's really sure what to do for you except to have you rest, so you're going to rest until you're strong enough to walk out of this house without any help," Nora replied.

There was a knock on the door, a male voice calling, "Is Grim in there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Akalani called back. "That you, Aster?"

"Yeah. It's my turn to stand guard. Can I open the door? Are you and the new girl decent?"

Kalama's face flushed, while Akalani spluttered something incoherently. Looking like she was holding back laughter, Nora opened the door. "That's not why he's in here, Star, and shame on you for jumping to that conclusion."

"Hey, all I heard was new girl was kinda hot. And you told us we're supposed to stand guard _outside_ the room. What else was supposed to think? I mean, I'm not interested but who knows about Grim," teased the male standing in the doorway. If Kalama had to guess, she'd say he was about the same age as Luka. Like the others, he wore a uniform, with the bandana around his neck, but his looked a little different. Despite the climate in Alola, he wore pants instead of shorts, as well as a black jacket with white lining. Its left sleeve hung by his side, empty, and on his right hand he wore a fingerless black glove. He also didn't have a hat on, leaving his wavy dark purple hair hanging free. His eyes were red, like Akalani's, but nowhere near as pale.

"Asterios," the albino male whispered, leaning closer to Kalama. "But every calls him Aster or Star. Don't ask about his missing arm. It upsets him." He straightened up, holding a wad of dirty paper towels by a clean corner. Mimikyu did the same with her own wad, and Nora reached down to grab hers. "Nice meeting you, Kalama. Even if you were puking while it happened." He grinned.

Kalama grimaced, but soon smiled back. "Yeah, same." She watched Akalani leave the room, Aster stepping out as well and closing the door. She looked at Nora. "Everyone I met so far seems so normal."

That comment drew a laugh from Nora. "Of course they're normal. What were you expecting? People covered head to toe in tattoos and piercings, smashing things to bits with baseball bats?"

Kalama felt her cheeks flush for a second time. That was exactly what she had imagined. Even after meeting Nora. From the other side of the closed door, she should hear Aster cracking up. "W-Well," she stammered, "I kinda expected them to be more...I dunno, edgy? I mean– I just–" Embarrassed, she decided to just stop talking. Though her mouth didn't get the memo as quickly as she hoped. "They're all lots nicer than I thought too."

"You've only met a small handful, Kalama. The less nice members are being kept away for now. Unfortunately, I doubt they would be trying to bother you right now anyway. Not with Gladion in town. Poor boy," she sighed.

"What d'you mean? Who's Gladion?"

"Well, usually when members of Team Skull are being unpleasant towards other members of Team Skull, Gladion is the one being bothered. We've tried our best to put a stop to it, but some people refuse to quit. Guzma isn't willing to kick anybody out just because they're being an asshole to one person. Of course, Gladion's attitude doesn't help matters. He's a bit of a loner. He hasn't tried to make any friends. Generally, everyone in Team Skull treats each other well. But like a true family...we have our exceptions." Nora headed for the door. "The gum seems to be working. I'll make sure I bring a whole pack for you with your lunch. Remember to stay in bed. I'll be back soon." She left, and Kalama was alone again with nothing to do but pet Rockruff.

* * *

Lunch had been a grilled cheese sandwich and some soup. Then the afternoon had been more laying in bed and resting, chewing gum to keep herself from overstuffing on snacks. Now it was dinner time, and Nora hadn't come alone. "Kalama, this is Wolfgang. Wolf for short," Nora said as she set the same lid-tray that breakfast and lunch had been delivered on down on the teen's lap. This time, it held a bowl of pasta, with a smaller side bowl of salad. But Kalama wasn't looking at the food. She was staring at Wolf.

Over six feet tall, with an athletic build and a fair amount of muscle, those features combined with the scar across his face that was probably the result of a Pokémon's claws to give him a very intimidating appearance. There were more scars on his forearms, visible against his slightly tanned skin. Somewhat shaggy black hair hung to his shoulder, and unsettling dark eyes met Kalama's yellow ones. He smiled politely, though looked away as if disinterested. "Hello, Kalama."

"Um...hi."

"Wolf was the one outside your door. I asked him to come in with me, in case you need help getting around after you eat."

"Gonna take me to the movie night thing?" Kalama asked excitedly, grabbing the fork beside the bowls, spitting her gum out into its empty wrapper, and digging into the salad first.

"Eat your dinner and we'll see," Nora laughed.

"M'kay," Kalama replied, scarfing down her food as if it were the last meal she'd ever eat, ignoring the older female's warning to slow down. It was only a few minutes until she set the lid-tray aside, pulled away the bedsheet to free her legs, and swung herself around to plant her feet on the floor. "I'm done. Eating and lying around." She grabbed her pack of gum, unwrapped a stick, and stuck it in her mouth, beginning to chew.

"Let's make sure you can stand up first," Nora cautioned. "Take it slow, Kalama."

"If you feel like you're going to fall, steady yourself against me," Wolf offered, stepping closer. He still wasn't looking her way when he spoke though.

"I got this." Kalama stood up, going slow like Nora had told her to. She took a step. Then another one. And a third. "I'm fine! See?" Moving more confidently, she headed for the door. Rockruff followed, tail wagging. Both Trainer and Pokémon were clearly excited about being able to get out of the room and move around. "Which way?"

"Follow me. Wolf will be behind you, just in case you fall."

Nora took the lead, Kalama and Rockruff going after, With Wolf at the rear. Whatever house they were in (along the way, Nora explained that most of the Grunts called it either Shady House or just the Manor) was pretty big. Turning corner after corner, moving through numerous different hallways, Kalama was well and truly lost by the time they arrived in the rec room. It wasn't much. Along one wall was a bar, and set up around the room were a few small tables. There were also a handful of tables for shooting billiards or playing foosball, and some old, dinged up but still working pinball machines. A TV hung on a wall near the bar. A crowd had already gathered, and she glanced back at Wolf to see a grimace on his face. Not a people person then. "I'm going to leave. If you need help getting back, ask someone to come find me." He turned on his heel and left.

Kalama looked at Nora uncertainly. Nora smiled at her. "Go mingle. Meet some of the other members. Make some friends," she encouraged before turning towards the bar, where the adult members of the gang were gathered. There didn't seem to be many.

Picking up Rockruff, she looked around the room. A pale red pair of eyes caught her gaze. Akalani smiled and waved her over. She smiled back and headed over to sit with him and his Mimikyu. A few seconds later, Aster plonked himself down on her other side. "Hey Kalama. Hey Grim."

"Hi Aster. Nice to see you could make it, Kalama."

Kalama idly tickled Rockruff's ruff. "Hi Akalani. Hi Aster."

"Alright you little shits, quiet down!" The noise in the room quickly subsided, all eyes turning towards the wall with the TV on it, where Guzma was standing. "We're watching The Pyroar King tonight. Been around twenty years, so hooray for it."

"Makes you feel old, doesn't it Boss?" someone in the crowd snarked.

"Shut up and watch the movie, JD," he shot back, heading for the bar. "Oh yeah, any of y'all start sweating through your eyes, tissues are in the back. Use them! Someone turn off the lights."

A Grunt jumped up to flip the switch as the TV was turned on and the movie began.

* * *

"Can't believe I actually had to get some tissues when Mufasa died," Kalama muttered, leaning against Aster for support. He was showing her the way back to her room.

"I know, right? Scar sucks."

"Yeah. Felt bad for those three Mightyena though. They just wanted food. I know what that's like."

"You got a point. Here's your room."

"Thanks Aster. I'm good now." He nodded, waving goodbye as he headed off down the hallway. Kalama opened the door, Rockruff following her into the room. Having nothing to wear besides her uniform, she got into bed as she was, rolled over onto her side, and promptly fell asleep.

* * *

 _LDR: Guys. Lion King's twentieth anniversary. I had to do something! And then I remembered this cute comic I found online where Plumeria was trying to convince Guzma to attend a movie night that the Grunts has planned... Well it was perfect. Also, I chose Mightyena for the hyenas because Mightyena was the most hyena-like Pokemon I could think of. If anyone has a better suggestion, you should let me know._

 _So we officially met Wolf this chapter (his creator was mentioned last chapter for anyone who, for some reason, missed that) but now we also have Akalani/Grim and Aster. Akalani belongs to AZW330 and Aster was made by PainX65._

 _JD, the one with the tiny cameo near the end, was made by Amelia Earhart5 and might or might not make a larger appearance next chapter._

 _Okay , I think that's it for now. Hope you enjoyed. As always, feel free to drop a review. Oh, and for anyone who submitted a character, if I ever do something with them that feels wildly uncharacteristic, just send me a PM and I can edit that._

 _LDR out!_


	4. Chapter 4

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 4**

 _LDR: Hey, no chapters over the weekend. Sorry guys, but my weekends are my time. Don't expect uploads from me on weekends too often._

 _So just a random thought, but a Pokémon related one, the S/M anime is...disappointing. Anyone else agree? The art style is goofy and the plot is meh. I feel like it's a huge letdown after what XYZ was like. Not to mention this whole school thing... I dunno. The S/M games have been my favorite so far, but the anime has been my least favorite. I still watch it for someone reason though, as cringe-worthy as I find most of the episodes... Maybe it's Gladion that keeps me watching. I do really like him. Or it might be the hope that I'll eventually see Team Skull become relevant to the story. You guys got any thoughts on the anime?_

* * *

Only a few days after movie night, Kalama had been deemed well enough by Nora to be 'discharged', whatever that meant.

She learned soon enough that it meant she would no longer be confined to her bed, and she was having a bit of a difficult time containing her excitement. "Finally! I got so sick and tired of doing nothing for _days_!" She was on her feet instantly, grabbing Rockruff and spinning around with him a little bit. Picking up on her excitement, he barked happily and wagged his tail.

Nora watched them and laughed. "You'll be moving out of this room and into one that will be shared with other female Grunts. You need to work on being cleaner, or your roommates will end up upset with you." She prodded an empty chip bag with her toe.

"Yeah, yeah. Can I go now? And then go look around Po Town?"

"Not so fast, Kalama. There's some things you'll have to learn to be a good member of Team Skull. Most of what we get, we get by stealing. Not everyone is happy with that, but we just don't have the money to do things any other way. You'll have to learn how to steal. Do you remember Wolf?"

"Doubt I'm ever gonna forget him..." Kalama pictured the intimidating male.Yeah, of course she remembered someone like him.

"Good. He's going to be the one teaching you."

"Luka said the same thing. Something about Wolf being a...a...It was a big word. Started with 'klepta' or something."

"Kleptomaniac. Yes, that's a pretty good word to describe Wolf."

"What's it mean?"

"He gets an urge to steal. Not because he needs something. Just for the sake of stealing."

"Oh. So he does it a lot. So he must be good at it. Which is why he's gonna teach me?"

"Yes. You also need to be able to battle at least somewhat effectively. Training you and Rockruff to do that will be Jacko. Be careful around him. He's one of the people that's in Team Skull because he thinks crime is fun and can end up paying, not because he has nowhere else to go. He's sneaky and conniving, but he's brilliant in battle for those reasons."

"Conniving?"

"How do I explain that one? Hmm... He's not trustworthy. Just remember what I said about being careful around him and I'm sure you'll end up fine. He likes to play dirty. I'm sure he'll do the same around you. But Rockruff isn't that powerful yet, is he?"

"No. And I ain't really great at battling. We only ever won, like, three battles. And it's because Rockruff does good against Spearow."

"That's what I thought. You two might have to resort to some underhanded strategies until you're both stronger. That's why Jacko's going to be teaching you. For now." Nora gestured towards the open door. "Alright, get your things. Let's get you to your new room. You'll be sharing it with three other girls. If I remember correctly, they'd be Emily, Naoki, and JD." Kalama slipped her shoes on, grabbed her hat and Rockruff's Pokeball, motioned for Rockruff to follow her, and headed for the door as Nora spoke. The woman led the way through the halls, still speaking. "Emily only seems to have one volume setting: loud. But she's a good girl. Naoki's a bit shy. JD... Well JD was biologically born a female, which is why we're having them room with other females, but they don't identify as either male or female. I'm the adult in charge of the wing you'll be staying in, so if you need anything, come to me. If you can't find me, go to Plumeria; she's the one in charge of the next wing over."

"Okay," Kalama said, in the middle of getting her hat on her head and Rockruff's Pokeball attached to her belt. That done, she bent down to scoop the Pokémon into her arms. He nuzzled her happily and she grimaced as she felt his rock-studded mane scratching against her neck. "Ow, Rockruff. Ow."

Nora glanced back at them and smiled. "You two are an adorable pair. Rockruff really adores you. Alright, here's your room. Get settled in and wait here until Wolf comes to get you for your first lesson." Waving, she walked off.

Kalama set Rockruff down and patted his head before opening the door and peeking into the room. It looked empty. She opened the door wider. Oh wait, there was someone. A somewhat chubby someone, with tanned skin like her own, poorly cut green hair, and brown eyes. Those brown eyes currently looked faintly surprised, and not quite in a happy way. Kalama smiled. "Uh...hi. Nora said this was my room..."

"Oh. You're Kalama then."

"Yeah." This girl's voice sounded just slightly familiar. Why though...? "You?"

"JD."

She might not be able to recognize voices she'd only heard once before, but Kalama was really good with names. Suddenly it clicked why this girl sounded so familiar. Except this girl wasn't a girl, according to Nora. "I remember you. You teased Guzma 'bout being old when we watched The Pyroar King."

"Okay."

"..." Conversation was hard with this one. Kalama sighed and gave up, fully entering the room and closing the door behind her. "So which bed is mine?"

JD pointed to one of the four beds in the room, on the other side of the room from the bed that they currently sat on. "That one."

"Alright, thanks." She headed over, sitting on the edge and patting a spot beside her. "Here, Rockruff. This is where we're gonna sleep now." The canine yipped and hopped up beside her. Silence fell over the room then, and remained until there came a knock on the door.

"Kalama? It's Wolf. Come with me."

"Coming!" She scooped Rockruff into her arms and glanced towards JD, debating whether or not to say goodbye to her new roommate. She settled on a smile and a little wave before exiting the room.

* * *

 _Creeeaaak!_ Kalama froze, grimacing. Wolf frowned at her. The two were in a small, empty house near the wall that surrounded Po Town. A small, empty, creaky house. This was the fourth time Kalama was attempting to cross the room she was in silently, as Wolf had instructed, and the the fourth time that she had failed.

"You're tiptoeing again, Kalama." She fidgeted a little. Unlike the last time they'd spoken, Wolf was looking right at her. It was a little unsettling. "Remember, tiptoeing is an incredibly counterproductive way of sneaking. In focusing all of your weight on a smaller part–"

"Yeah, yeah. I ain't forgetting what you told me," she interrupted, slightly irritable. "Just habit." She blew a bubble with the gum she was chewing, letting it grow until it popped. "I ain't gonna be good at this in the first lesson, y'know."

Wolf looked unimpressed. "Focus on what you're doing. If you have to stop and think about placing your whole foot against the floor, then do it. This is not the type of thing that you can rush, Kalama. It will take patience and lots of practice. You will not be moving on to the next lesson until I am satisfied with your skill here."

"How much longer?"

"An hour and a half. Now come back here and start over."

Kalama groaned, trudging back to where Wolf stood with his back against the wall.

* * *

Lunch time had come with the end of Wolf's lesson, along with an order to return to her room after she ate and wait for her 'battling mentor' to find her. Kalama had managed to find her way without asking for directions, thanks to the fairly large crowd of people entering one of Po Town's larger houses which had, apparently, been converted into the cafeteria. One room served as the place to lay out the available food. The other rooms were filled with tables and chairs of all shapes and sizes. With a container of microwave reheated Combusken flavored ramen in one hand and a small bowl of a mix of berries in the other, Kalama found herself an empty seat, set down her lunch, and let her head fall forward until her forehead thumped gently against the tabletop. Rockruff managed to squirm his way onto her lap and let out a concerned sounding bark. She straightened up and smiled at him. "I'm okay." She wasn't. But she also wasn't about to have a conversation with her Pokémon about how frustrated she was at being awful at sneaking in front of all these people. She plucked an oran berry from her bowl and fed it to Rockruff, then dug into her pocket for the crumpled up wrapper of the piece of gum she was currently chewing. She spat the gum into the wrapper, then set about to devouring her lunch. Ramen first, and while she was busy with that with one hand, her other hand was being used to pick a few berries out of the bowl and set them on the table for her before the rest of the bowl's contents were given to Rockruff. Human and Pokémon both ate quickly, and Kalama pulled her pack of gum from her pocket to get herself another stick to chew. As she did, her gaze roved the room she had seated herself in, landing on a corner with an open bubble of space. Weird. Everywhere else, people were crammed together, with barely enough room to stick their elbows out. But there sat someone who could reach out around himself with an arm and be just short of touching anyone. Kalama frowned. Wait a minute. Blond hair, bangs covering one of his green eyes... Looked like the boy she'd caught a glimpse of in the hallway the first time she'd woken up here.

"You look like you're thinking of going over. You gotta be new. Everyone knows Gladion's a lost cause."

Kalama turned to look at the person beside her, frowning slightly. "Why?"

"Well he don't really seem to want anyone sitting with him. Someone tries, he usually just ignores them. Most of us are pretty social around here. Even the shy ones make an effort during meals. Not him though. So no one wants to sit near him."

Kalama scooped Rockruff off her lap and got up, winding her way through the crowded room until she plopped herself down in the chair next to Gladion. He glanced at her, his one visible eye narrowing. She smiled. "You're all alone."

"You're the starving girl they brought in."

"Yeah. I am. Why're you sitting all alone?"

"How did you get in such a poor condition?"

"Huh? Oh, uh...well obviously I got no food."

"You never asked for help?"

"I mean, I prayed to Tapu Koko for help. Three or four times a day. But I lived in a bad neighborhood. If I asked people, I coulda gotten help. Or I coulda gotten attention from the wrong kinda people."

Gladion eyed Rockruff. "What about battling?"

"I ain't really good at it... Rockruff ain't that strong yet either," she sighed. His interest in her seemed to end there, because he went back to eating. Kalama waited for nearly a full minute to see if he would say anything else. Getting nothing, she leaned a little closer. "Hey, I answered your questions. Ain't you gonna answer mine? How come you're so alone?"

"Go away."

"What if I say no?" she challenged.

"Being persistent with me isn't going to change anything. You aren't the first person who's tried."

"Come on. Everyone keeps telling me Team Skull's supposed to be one big family."

"I'm not here for _family_." There was something about the way he said 'family' that made her decide it might be better to not say it again. "I'm here to get strong. That's it. I don't need family for that. So once again, go away."

"Well everyone's stronger when they got other people to help them, right? I was talking to Nora and she mentioned you. How you get picked on and you ain't tried to make any friends."

"I don't get picked on. I get bothered by people who are too frightened to do more than say meaningless things."

"Fine but what about friends? Having people with you to help you–" She stopped as he got up and walked away. With a snort, she looked down at Rockruff, petting him. "Well..." Then she smiled. "But he ain't a lost cause. I think. We did actually talk. Should probably get to the room. Let's go." Holding the Pokémon against her chest, she stood up and made her way out of the eating house, headed back towards the Shady House.

She stopped in the entryway with a groan, looking around. "Which way? I think the girls' wing is that side?" She heard the door swing open behind her and only had a split second to realize that she was standing right in front of it before someone ran into her. She stumbled forward, accidentally dropping Rockruff. He landed on his side with a surprised yelp and Kalama was instantly on her knees beside the Pokémon to make sure he was okay. He picked himself up and wagged his tail at her, seemingly fine, and she sighed in relief.

"Don't stand right in front of the door!"

"S-Sorry," she said as she scooped Rockruff into her arms again and stood up. "I was trying to figure out which way my room was..." She turned around, finding herself face to face with Gladion. She blinked in surprise. So soon after lunch?

"Have Rockruff scent your way back." He brushed past her and headed up the central staircase.

"Where are you going?"

For a moment, she thought he might ignore her and keep walking. But he paused and glanced back at her. "To talk to Guzma."

"Why–?" And he was gone. She looked down at Rockruff. Have the canine scent her way back? She set him on the floor. "Okay, Rockruff. Can you, uh, find our smell from earlier and track it back to the room?" Rockruff barked and sniffed around the floor, then suddenly took off. Calling for him to slow down a little, which he ended up doing, she followed, committing the route taken to memory.

Rockruff stopped and barked once suddenly, looking at a figure that stood in front of a closed door, one hand raised as if just about to knock. Based on the way the person's body was built, they were male. Kalama stopped to pick up her Pokemon while studying the male as he turned towards her. He had green eyes, but that was all she could see as far as defining features went for his face was covered by a black ski mask. White goggles rested on his brow. He didn't wear the typical Skull uniform either, instead wearing a gray jacket with Skull's symbol on the back, black sweatpants, and brown boots. Gloves on his hands had skeletal red patterns. She decided he must be crazy, to dress like that in Alola.

"Are you Kalama?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"Great. I'm Jacko Keran. I'm going to teach you about Pokémon battles. Let's go."

He gestured for her to follow as he passed her, headed back the way that she had just come. She went after him. "Why're you dressed like that?"

"Because it's cool."

"But ain't you hot?"

"No, not really." She almost accused him of lying, but decided it would probably be better to stay on her battling teacher's good side.

Jacko led her out of the Shady House and towards the wall that fenced the town in, stopping in an open area of grass and turning to face her. "Before we start, there's eighteen types. Fire, Water, Grass, Normal, Fighting, Rock, Ground, Ice, Dark, Bug, Psychic, Poison, Ghost, Dragon, Fairy, Flying, Electric, and Steel. Got it?"

"Uh.."

"They all affect each other differently. Your Rockruff is a plain Rock type. He's weak to Water, Grass, Fighting, Ground, and Steel. He's good to use against Fire, Ice, Bug, and Flying." Jacko paused to grab one of his Pokeballs, letting out a little purple Pokémon with odd, spiky blue hair. "This is a Mareanie. Her name is Prick. She's a Poison and Water type. Your Rockruff will be battling her. Who has the better matchup?"

"Um...y-you do? Cause...Prick has the Water type and Rockruff is Rock."

"Correct. In theory. In reality, Prick doesn't know any Water type attacks. She hasn't learned them yet. Pokémon battles are hard to teach. The best way to learn is to do. That being said, put your Rockruff down and stand over there." He gestured to where she was meant to stand as he placed himself behind his Mareanie. Kalama obeyed. "Always strike first. Prick, Toxic Spikes." Prick launched herself up into the air, her spiky tentacles splayed out, and spun, shooting out purple spines that dotted the grass. "Never give your opponent time to stop and think. But don't rush in recklessly either. Have a plan. Stick to it. Create strategies and practice them over and over until you and your Pokémon know them by heart." As he spoke, Prick had landed, but her tentacles remained raised. They began to glow white and the Mareanie spun, shooting out white spikes that slammed into Rockruff, forcing him back. "I didn't have to say anything to Prick because she knows that I will always have her use Spike Cannon after Toxic Spikes."

"Ain't that predictable then, though?"

"Only if my opponent knows the strategy. You didn't. Now look at your Rockruff."

Kalama did so. Stuck in the bottom of a back paw was one of the Toxic Spikes, making him limp. There was a faint purple coloring across the top of his muzzle. "What's wrong with him?"

"He stepped on the Toxic Spikes. Now he has a status condition called poison."

"You _poisoned_ my Rockruff?!"

"Calm down, it won't kill him. Poison, and a similar effect called burn, gradually sap away the affected Pokémon's strength. Poison and Steel types are typically immune to the poison status, and Fire types aren't affected by burns. Now have your Rockruff attack Prick."

"Okay. Uh, Rockruff. Do the rock shooting thing!"

"Hold on a minute!" Jacko stepped between the two Pokémon, waving his hands and staring incredulously at Kalama. "Rock shooting thing?"

"What? I know it don't sound as cool as Toxic Spikes or Spike Cannon, but I can work on that."

"You don't even know your own Pokémon's moves?"

"Well I know what he can do..."

"But you don't know what the moves are called." Jacko crossed his arms, one foot tapping against the ground. "You need to learn. I'm not the one to teach you. Go take Rockruff to the Pokémon Center and then do whatever. I need to talk to someone about teaching you moves."

"Which way is the Pokémon Center?" He pointed, and she scooped Rockruff up and bolted off, eager to see his poisoning cured.

* * *

With Rockruff all fixed up, and currently resting in his Pokéball, Kalama left the Pokémon Center and glanced around before beginning to walk along the road. She paused as a pair of female Grunts left a nearby building, listening idly as one complimented the other on her new piercing. Suddenly curious, Kalama looked closer and spotted a glint of something silver in one Grunt's earlobe. Her gaze snapped to the building that the two had just walked out of. After a moment's hesitation, she approached the door and pushed it open, stepping inside.

* * *

 _LDR: Alright. So there's a bit more of JD, created by Amelia Earhart5. And there's also Jacko, who's owned by onyxwhip._

 _So far, Kalama's turning out to be a pretty hopeless Skull, isn't she? Well luckily, she's got about a year (don't worry, there will be time skips) to improve before we get into the events of the games. Yes, this is set a year before the games. So that means it's also about a year since Gladion stole Type: Null and ran from his Zubatshit crazy mom. I'm placing him at around 16 and Kalama at around 15 at this point in time._

 _Right. Hope y'all are still enjoying reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it. Until next chapter,_

 _LDR out!_


	5. Chapter 5

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 5**

 _LDR: I want to start off by giving a huge thanks to my consistent reviewers. It always puts a smile on my face when I open up my inbox and find something from you guys. Of course, I love all my reviewers (and followers and favoriters) but it's you guys that do it for every chapter that win the gold medal. You're the best of the best, guys._

 _Speaking of consistent reviewers, for those of you who are consistent reviewers and have submitted an OC, you might see yours showing up a bit more often than the others. None of them are really going to major roles, and there might even be chapters where submitted OCs aren't even mentioned, much less present. But if I know a creator is actively sticking with this story, their characters will get a little spotlight._

 _Anyway, sorry this took so long guys. I've been introduced to Re:Zero and the moment I finished the anime, I absolutely had to keep going with the web novel. I loved it so much. I'm still working my way through the web novel, but I wanted to get this chapter finished for y'all since I only had a bit left._

 ** _One more thing before the chapter starts. There is a poll up on my profile that pertains to this story. All of you please go cast your votes!_**

* * *

Kalama hissed softly, gingerly touching the faux diamond stud that was now present in either earlobe, as she strolled up the main road that cut through Po Town, on her way to the eating house for dinner. Really, she wasn't sure why the pain had surprised her. Piercing did involve stabbing tiny holes through her ears after all. But it wasn't just her ears that were sore. Her hands dropped to her sides and she glanced at her forearm, where Team Skull's symbol was now inked permanently into her skin. The piercing place had doubled as a tattoo parlor (not that anything they did was all that elaborate) and the decision to get a tattoo had been just as spur of the moment as the decision to get her ears pierced. Team Skull being Team Skull apparently didn't care much how old the person they were tattooing was.

Rockruff trotted alongside her, looking and acting as if the battle that afternoon had never happened. She watched him for a few steps, then paused. With a smile, she crouched down to pet him with one hand. Her other hand went for one of his hind paws, the one that had stepped on the Toxic Spike. She gently lifted it up, fingers feeling along the tough pad. Like the last time she'd checked, and the time before that, and the time before _that_ , there was no sign that anything had been embedded there. Absolutely incredible what one cheap little Potion could do. As she stood up, a sound like something fairly large impacting against a wall met her ears, coming from behind an empty building beside her. That was weird. She was running late to dinner. There shouldn't be anyone else out and about right now. Curious, she went to investigate.

Somehow, despite her poor sneaking skills, she managed to go unnoticed. Then again, she was moving on soft dirt and grass, not on creaky boards. As she got closer, she made out the sounds of a distressed Pokémon and someone trying to soothe it. Her curiosity grew. She poked her head around the corner of the building, eyes widening at the sight that greeted her. There stood some strange, and intimidatingly large, Pokémon, its head bowed so that the claws on its forepaws could scrape against a helmet that encased its head. Clearly it didn't want the helmet to be on, and she honestly couldn't blame the poor thing. It looked so uncomfortable. There, standing with the strange creature, one of his hands tugging at the helmet and the other brushing along the Pokémon's side as he muttered softly to it, was Gladion.

She had run into him a lot today.

His Pokémon looked up suddenly, gaze locked on her. It growled faintly. Gladion glanced over, his visible eye wide with surprise. "What are– You shouldn't be– Dinner isn't over yet!"

"I-I was running late. Then heard something. Came to check it out. Umm..."

"Don't tell anyone about this." Gladion gave a final tug on the helmet then gave up, patting his Pokémon's side gently.

"Why? What is it?" Kalama stepped closer, though Rockruff elected to stay back. She held a hand out towards the strange Pokémon, though withdrew it quickly when the creature pawed at the air, its claws inches away from her fingers. "You gonna answer my questions? Might as well. Already seen this guy."

"It's called Type: Null," he replied reluctantly.

"Why you want it kept secret?"

"I stole it."

"Lots of people here steal, apparently," she pointed out.

"This is different. Null isn't like some common Yungoos. I'm not going to tell you any more than that so don't bother asking."

"Don't it hate that helmet? Looked like it was trying to get it off."

"Yeah. It does hate the helmet."

"Maybe I can help get it off."

That offer seemed to surprise him. After a moment, he nodded. "I doubt you'll be able to do much."

"Gonna try anyway." She held a hand out towards Type: Null again, this time only flinching as its claws passed by her hand. Gladion kept a hand on its side, watching closely as Kalama inched closer. "Hey buddy. I ain't gonna hurt you. Just don't hurt me, okay?" Her fingertips traced over the helmet's surface. She crouched a little, examining the base of the helmet. "Geez. How'd this thing even get on?"

"I don't know."

She tried to dig her fingers in between the base of the helmet and the fur of Type: Null's neck. "Type: Null's a weird name for a Pokémon, ain't it?" No reply. She decided not to press the matter. She eyed the protrusions at the base of the helmet, grabbing two and tugging. "Think you're right. I ain't gonna be able to do anything 'bout this. Woah!"

The Pokémon had reared up on its hind legs, and Kalama stumbled back. Type: Null turned and slammed its head against the wall of the building. Gladion stopped it from repeating the action by catching its head in both hands. One hand stayed on the side of the helmet, the other dropped to stroke along Type: Null's neck. "I'm sorry, Null." He held up an odd-looking Pokeball, all white with a red stripe encircling it, and recalled his Pokémon. Only then did Rockruff creep around the corner of the building and come running to Kalama's side. "Dinner will be over soon."

Gladion turned around and headed off, in the same direction as the eating house, Kalama noted. She smiled, scooped Rockruff up into her arms, and caught up to the blond teen. "Let's walk together."

"Why?" He frowned at her.

"Well I heard from more than one person that you spend lots of time alone. And I saw at lunch today no one was sitting close to you. Ain't you lonely?" His frown deepened slightly and he offered no response. "I'll keep quiet if you want."

"Yes. Do that."

"Oh, and I ain't gonna tell nobody 'bout Type: Null, don't worry."

"...thank you."

* * *

Dinner had been a quiet affair. For Kalama anyway. Chatter had filled the room but she'd taken little part in it, remaining quiet like she'd offered to. Gladion hadn't spoken much either, but that had been expected. One day wasn't going to suddenly make him warm up to her.

She was on her way back to her room now, having Rockruff help her with the way. She opened the door and paused as two sets of eyes turned her way. The first set was dark brown, belonging to a ivory-skinned girl with a messy, black pixie cut. As she glanced away, the angle of her head made visible a scar behind her right ear. The other pair of eyes was green, partially obscured by strands of dark, wavy hair. Both wore the standard Skull uniform, but the green-eyed girl had an obviously fake emerald ring stuck on her pinkie finger.

"I think you got the wrong room," green-eyes said.

Kalama glanced at Rockruff as he tried to squeeze between her legs and the door to get inside. "Nah, think this is the right one. I trust Rockruff's nose."

"You gotta be Kalama then." When Kalama nodded, green-eyes continued. "Okay. Right room then. I'm Emily, or just Em, and this is Naoki, or Kiki."

"Hello," Naoki said with a small wave.

"Hi." Kalama opened the door wider, stepping into the room and letting Rockruff in behind her. She headed for her bed, sitting down on the edge. Rockruff jumped up beside her and laid across her lap, rolling over onto his back so she could rub his stomach. No sooner than she had begun that did the door open again, admitting JD into the room. They walked right towards Kalama, stopping in front of her with their hands on their hips.

"Tomorrow morning, right after breakfast, meet me outside the eating house. I'll be teaching you about Pokémon moves from now on."

"Got it." Kalama gave a thumbs up as she kicked her shoes off and used her feet to slide them beneath her bed. Her hat and bandana followed them.

"You don't know about Pokémon moves?" Emily asked in disbelief.

"Nobody ever taught me. And I ain't got one of those fancy Dex thingies like a lot of Trainers I seen."

"Well you'll be fine with JD teaching you." Naoki took off her own shoes and slid them beneath her bed as Kalama had done. "They studied Pokémon stuff a lot before they joined Skull."

"Naoki, Emily, you two are coming with us tomorrow."

"What? Why?" Emily shouted, springing to her feet. "No damn way, JD. That's my free time!"

"Shut up. I'm not handling a complete newbie on my own. It's just for one day. Don't make me go to Boss or Plumeria and get my request turned into an order because you damn well know I will."

"It's just one day, Em," Naoki interrupted. "You can put up with it for one day. Especially to help out another Skull."

Emily sat down, arms folded across her chest. "Fine. Alright. Just one day."

"Just one day," JD agreed.

"And nobody's allowed to judge me for not knowing stuff," Kalama put in.

"We won't judge you," Naoki assured her. "Well, _I_ won't. Em and JD might."

Kalama grinned as JD denied that with a huff, while Emily tried to turn her own denial into a full blown argument. She had a feeling that if she ever wanted peace and quiet, her room should not be where she sought it out.

Although Nora had told her that Naoki was a bit of a shy individual, Kalama quickly discovered just how chatty the other girl could get, and the room was soon filled with a discussion about how the Tapus were doing a not so great job of being guardians. This stretched for several hours, at one point just devolving into a big complaint, until Nora arrived to make sure the teens were all in bed. As the lights were flicked out and Kalama pulled the bedsheet up to her chin, Rockruff curled up beside her, her last thought before falling asleep was the hope that her lessons the next day would go better than today's had.

* * *

Some higher power really did not like her. Kalama stared at the yellow, bug-like Pokémon in front of her, brow furrowed. Her lesson on Pokémon moves was wrapping up by having her name moves that had been demonstrated at any point during the lesson. She had gotten through the first two (Lapat, Naoki's Lampent, had used Flame Burst and JD's Hoppip had used Fairy Wind) but now Glicky, Emily's Vibrava, was stumping her. She frowned as Glicky again opened her mouth to shoot out a green and yellow beam of energy. Finally, she threw her hands up in defeat. "I got no idea!"

"Dragon Breath," JD sighed. "We'll try that one again. Remember it. Let's pause this and go over your Rockruff's moves again. What does he know?"

"Um...Rock Throw. And Tackle. Fire...Fire Fang?" JD nodded and gestured for Kalama to keep going. "Thunder Fang too. Bite, Sand Attack, um...Howl?"

"You're missing one."

"Crap. Um..." She glanced towards Rockruff. He looked back at her. A dangerous glint suddenly appeared in his eyes as he narrowed them fiercely. She smiled. "Leer!"

Good. We'll go over them again at the very end to see if you can do it without Rockruff's help. Now, Hoppip, next move."

"This is dumb. I'm never gonna remember all of these!"

"It's the first damn lesson, Kalama, so shut your mouth and pay attention to Hoppip. What move was that?"

* * *

"You're rushing," Wolf said as the floorboards creaked for the umpteenth time since the beginning of the lesson. "I don't care if it takes you the entire two hours to cross the room once. Slow down. This requires patience. Focus on silence first. Only once you've mastered that should you be working on speed.

Kalama folded her arms stubbornly, scowling at him. "I just can't do it! I ain't as light on my feet as you!"

"With practice you will be. This is only your second lesson. Don't expect results right away. Now, try again." He focused his gaze on her, making the younger term fidget uncomfortably. "And _don't_ tiptoe. You keep doing it. Stop and think about placing your foot down flat as you take each step."

* * *

"I suck at all of this," she confided in Gladion at lunch. "Ain't able to remember most of the moves I learned today. Ain't able to sneak across one damn room."

"You haven't been doing this very long," he sighed.

"But–"

"I really don't want to sit here and listen to you complain."

Kalama ate the rest of her lunch in silence.

* * *

When she arrived at the arranged meeting point for her battling lesson with Jacko, she found him waiting there with someone else. He was short, somewhere just around five feet, maybe an inch or two less, if she had to guess. And he was definitely the youngest Skull she'd seen so far. He didn't wear a uniform, instead having on a long-sleeved turquoise shirt striped with indigo, with a hood on the back. His pants were also turquoise, and wore indigo gloves with a turquoise snowflake on their backs. Once again, she silently questioned the choice to wear such clothing in a climate as hot as Alola's. There was a Meowth-eared white snowcap on his head. A few strands of turquoise hair had escaped from beneath it, wisping around his covered ears and forehead. His eyes, like hers, were an unusual color. But while hers were yellow, his were orange. A few patches of his visible skin bore burn scars, most of them centered around what was visible of his chest and vanishing beneath his shirt, making her wonder just how extensive they were. Clinging to his shoulder was a rotund, white Pokémon.

"I thought it would be better for you to battle someone who was closer to your level of skill – or lack of it," Jacko informed her as she frowned curiously at the burnt boy. "This is Setsuna. He's only been with us for two weeks longer than you have. The gap between your skill level and his should be significantly less than the one between yours and mine."

Behind her back, one hand curled into a fist. She might suck at her lessons so far, but least none of her other teachers were arrogant assholes like this one. Her other hand extended towards Setsuna. "Hi. I'm Kalama."

He looked at her hand, but made no move to shake it. "Hello," he muttered.

"Alright, get to it. Setsuna, over there. Kalama, stand here."

As Jacko turned around to move out of the way, Kalama glanced at Setsuna and silently imitated the older male speaking. In a much more mocking way, of course. Setsuna cracked a smile, and she grinned. Looking over her shoulder at Rockruff, she motioned her Pokémon forward. "C'mon, Rockruff. We gotta battle." The Pokémon barked and ran forward.

Setsuna crouched down so that the Pokémon clinging to his shoulder could drop to the ground. "Don't be too rough, Fubuki."

"What is it?"

"He's a Sandshrew."

"He's cute. Okay, Rockruff. Rock Throw!"

"Icicle Spear." Spikes of ice drilled through the glowing rocks, reducing them to rubble.

"Keep doing it, Rockruff. No stopping!" Kalama watched as, over and over, Rockruff shot a volley of flying stones towards Fubuki only to have them countered by Icicle Spear.

Finally, Jacko could apparently take no more. "Stop!" He stepped forward, addressing Kalama. "No, no, no. Does the word 'plan' mean nothing to you? You're getting nowhere like that!"

"I was just doin' what you said last time. No giving my opponent a chance to attack back."

"All you've done is create a stalemate. Your Rockruff's attacks aren't reaching Fubuki, and Fubuki isn't getting a chance to try to do any damage to Rockruff. Stop, come up with a strategy, and then start the battle again."

"Wha– that was my strategy! All I got! Attack and don't let up and we'll hit eventually!" Kalama protested.

"Um," Setsuna spoke up. "Rockruff won't be able to outlast Fubuki. But he's more agile than Fubuki is. Try working with that."

Kalama looked down at Rockruff, then at the Sandshrew. Her face scrunched up in thought. "Sand Attack. And while he's blinded, Rock Throw again!" The canine barked, a forepaw swiping at the ground to throw dirt into Fubuki's face. The Sandshrew whined and rubbed at his eyes, unable to stop the incoming rock missiles. He went tumbling back. "Yeah! Do it again, Rockruff! Rock Throw!"

"Move to the left, Fubuki!"

"Chase him down!" Barking furiously, Rockruff bolted after Fubuki. All of a sudden, he leapt forward to tackle the Sandshrew, biting down with fire-coated fangs. Setsuna stepped back, staring at the Fire Fang. Kalama ran forward to pick Rockruff up. "He did that without me saying to!"

"Sometimes Pokémon do that," Jacko replied. "Let them. Their battle instincts are better than ours."

"Okay." Kalama looked over Setsuna, who had relaxed back to normal. "What was that? Got all tense."

"I don't like fire. That's all." Setsuna came forward to pick up Fubuki, gently cleaning away the result of the Sand Attack with his shirt.

"Setsuna, you can leave now. Kalama, for the rest of the time, we're going to work on strategy." Jacko clapped his hands together a few times, then made a shooing motion towards Setsuna. The boy nodded and walked away, his Sandshrew in his arms, while Kalama drew closer to her teacher, holding back a sigh. This would be fun...

* * *

 _LDR: Guys, help. I feel like I write Gladion so awkwardly. I'd appreciate opinions in reviews or PM._

 _So the character Emily was created by Vizidoodle, Naoki was made by POMForever, and Setsuna belongs to San child of the wolves._

 _Anyway, there we go. One chapter closer to game events, which is what I'm really excited about. Until the next one,_

 _LDR out!_


	6. Chapter 6

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 6**

 _LDR: Guess who's back again? It's everyone's favorite fanfiction wri– what's that? I'm not everyone's favorite? Well fine then._

 _So...Thanksgiving break was probably the last thing my writing needed. Because I dug out my copy of Pokémon Conquest (best spin-off game ever, I swear) and I forgot how fun it is. So now I'm playing that on top of reading the Re:Zero web novel and keeping up with all my schoolwork like a good little nerd. Oh, and also playing Warframe again. So if you ever don't like the waiting period between chapters, blame Nobunaga. Or Re:Zero. Or my teachers. Or the space ninjas._

 _Honestly I'm surprised I worked on this at all during winter break either. I mean, I got Ultra Sun so why am I writing this instead of playing that?_

 _The poll is now closed. I decided that it would be easier if I did the one-shots in a separate fic. I'll start that once this story is over. In addition to having the major events of the time skip, it'll also have one-shots to show off any OCs who got less screen time in this story._

* * *

Her lesson with Jacko had come to an end somewhere around an hour ago. As expected, it had not been a fun lesson at all. Strategy was not her thing. Now, in the couple hours she had before dinner, Kalama was poking around Po Town. Or, more accurately, she was poking around the nooks and crannies of Po Town, searching for a quiet, isolated little spot. That task was easier said than done. Po Town wasn't really huge after all, which she supposed was why a group like Team Skull had been able to take it over in the first place. And they had taken over every inch of it that she could find. So far, a place large enough to fit her and untouched enough to prove it was as private a spot as one could find in this town eluded her. With Rockruff in his Pokeball for now, by his own choice, Kalama stopped to lean against a wall, scowling at her feet as if her lack of hiding spots so far was all their fault. This pause allowed her to pick up the nearby sound of voices.

"Come on, it's just one friendly little battle."

"I said no." She knew that voice!

"Yeah, come on, Kekona. He'd rather be a coward."

"Well, it's no surprise a homeless kid would turn out spineless too." She recognized that voice too...

Her scowl much deeper now, Kalama rounded the corner to end up behind the house. There stood Gladion, his back to the wall and his arms crossed as he glanced between three Grunts — one was a female Kalama didn't recognize, one an unknown male, and the third was Luka, the one who had found her and Rockruff with Plumeria — who had surrounded him from the front and sides. "Shove off," she snapped. "Why'd you say something like that? Ain't a lot of us homeless kids? Least before Skull, anyway."

"Kalama!" Luka turned to face her, grinning. "Hey, you're still new to Skull so we'll cut you some slack today. But in the future, I suggest you do what everyone else does and ignore this, unless you want to join in."

"That ain't right!"

"Why do you care? No one around here cares, except maybe a few of the higher ups."

"I care cause he's my friend."

She could see Gladion's uncovered eye go wide with surprise at that statement. Luka smirked and one of his friends, the girl, laughed. "Everyone in Skull knows Gladion doesn't have any friends."

"I seen 'em sitting together at meals, Luka," his male friend said.

"Aww, cute. She's actually trying! Give up, Kalama. There's better people to make friends with here."

"I'm gonna make friends with whoever I want!" Kalama stepped closer, intending to shove him, but he held a hand against her forehead, keeping her at a distance. Her arms windmilled uselessly.

"That's enough." Gladion grabbed Luka's wrist tight enough to elicit a hiss of pain from the older male.

Kalama stepped back. "I'm gonna tell Nora," she grumbled.

Luka's two companions shared a look, then turned and scurried off. Luka tugged against Gladion's grip. "Let me go, dammit!" He placed his free hand against the boy's face and shoved, coordinating it with another tug of his captured wrist to free himself. He turned and ran. Gladion stumbled back and Kalama reached out to catch him.

"You didn't have to interfere. They would have gotten bored and left eventually," he muttered.

She snorted. "How about saying thanks?"

"We aren't friends, Kalama."

"Sure we are. You just ain't gonna admit it yet. If you didn't want me around, why ain't you stopping me from sitting with you at meals? Or walking away right now?"

"Hmph." He looked aside with a scowl.

"C'mon, you know I'm right."

"Was your afternoon lesson better than your morning ones?"

"Ha! Now you're asking about my day. See? We are friends." She grinned as Gladion crossed his arms as they began to walk. "Well, it kinda sucked. Rockruff and I did okay battling but I ain't good at strategy. Jacko ain't just letting us attack. Says we gotta fight smart and won't let me battle until I got a good strategy."

Gladion stopped. "That's ridiculous. What he needs to do is let you train. To get stronger. You can't win with smarts alone. Especially if you aren't good at strategy."

"And now you're talking to me about my frustrations instead of just telling me you don't wanna hear it!"

"Shut up, Kalama. If your idiot of a teacher is only going to focus on strategy, I'll help you with strength."

"Yep, we're totally friends, Gladion. You're offering to help me now." Kalama giggled as he gritted his teeth and looked away. "Alright, I'll stop teasing you. Thanks for offering to help me train."

He didn't reply, just led her through town until they reached the door set into the wall. They were going outside? She hadn't been outside yet. And having been unconscious when she'd arrived, she had no idea what lay on the outside of the wall surrounding Po Town. As the door was opened, it revealed...nothing impressive. A gray stone pathway leading down past a police station, with a rocky area close by. "So there ain't any cops there, right?" She pointed towards the station.

"There's one, but he doesn't really trouble us."

"Really? Good for us he ain't doing his job then. So how's this training gonna work?"

"Fight some wild Pokémon." Gladion gestured towards a large swathe of overgrown grass. She could see it rustling with the movement of wild Pokémon. "I'm only here in case you get into trouble that threatens yours or Rockruff's life."

"Talk about throwin' us in the deep end to teach us to swim," she muttered, grabbing Rockruff's Pokeball as she crept towards the grass. Rockruff was let out in a burst of light. "Guess we go in the grass. Or could look in the rocky place. What d'you wanna do, Rockruff?" He barked at the grass and she sighed. Looked like she'd be fighting her way through the knee-high stuff. Great. Rockruff charged ahead, disappearing among the grass. With an order for him to come back, Kalama started in the direction he'd initially gone. A nearby rustle in the grass had her relax, thinking her Pokémon had returned. Until sharp teeth fastened around her ankle. She shouted, lifting her leg to glare at a Yungoos that dangled from her foot. A sharp kick tore its teeth free and sent it flying. Luckily it hadn't bit all that deep. There wasn't much blood and she could still put weight on her foot.

A hiss signaled the Pokémon's return. Kalama could see the grass rustle as it charged towards her. But...there was even more rustling from other directions. Had it brought friends? She jerked back as a Gumshoos reared up onto its hind legs from out of the grass in front of her. A pair of Yungoose leapt towards her. "Rockruff!" A hail of glowing stones pelted the Pokémon. Rockruff's Rock Throw. Good. He was here. The canine popped out of the grass by her feet, growling fiercely. These were nothing like the half-starved ones that she and Rockruff had clashed with many times in the streets of Hau'oli City. And there were a lot. As least seven or eight Yungoos, plus two Gumshoos. She glanced towards Gladion, concerned, but he just made a 'get to it' gesture. Alright then... "Come on Rockruff. Time to get to work!"

* * *

Beads of blood dotted Kalama's arms and legs, nicks made by the teeth of a few Yungoos that had managed to get by Rockruff. Rockruff himself stood in front of her, clearly visible now that the grass had been either cut away or flattened in a wide area around them. He was panting heavily, cut and bruised in several places. But together, the two had managed to run off all the Yungoos and one of the Gumshoos. Unfortunately, the remaining Gumshoos was putting up quite the stubborn fight. "Howl." Rockruff planted all four paws firmly into the dirt, tipped back his head, and let out a tired howl. A red aura briefly rose around him, signifying the raise in his attack power. The Gumshoos responded by making a Scary Face, causing Rockruff to flinch back uncertainly, giving Gumshoos a chance to rush in with Take Down. Rockruff went flying back, only for Kalama to catch him. At her command, the canine shot out a Rock Throw, only for its target to negate the stones with Mud-Slap. What now? Every Rock Throw had ended up the same way. And all of Rockruff's other moves needed him to get in close, but with how tired he was, she doubted he'd be able to maneuver around the Gumshoos without getting hit. They had to try though. Gumshoos went stiff all of a sudden. It almost looked like it was...charging something? "Quick! Before it does whatever it's tryin' to do! Bite!" She set Rockruff down and, moving as fast as he could, the Rock type stumbled his way towards Gumshoos, jaws closing around its leg. "And Fire Fang!" Rockruff's mouth opened again as flames coated his teeth before he chomped down even harder. Just then, Gumshoos swung an arm at the canine, unleashing the Bide it had been storing up. Rockruff went flying back into Kalama, who fell over onto her butt as she caught him. He let out one small, exhausted whimper before he passed out. Gumshoos, looking absolutely, terrifyingly _pissed off_ , charged towards Kalama with a Take Down. "Gladion!" she shrieked, curling herself protectively around Rockruff and squeezing her eyes shut.

She heard a Pokeball open, heard something snarl and then Gumshoos hissed in fury and pain. She opened her eyes. Standing over her was a bipedal canine with a mohawk-like mane and frightening red eyes. In the Pokémon's jaws, held by the back of its neck, was Gumshoos, wiggling around. The strange canine gave a sharp shake of its head. There was a sickening crack, and Gumshoos was still. Heart pounding, Kalama looked towards Gladion with wide eyes. "Is it...d-dead?"

"Lycanroc needs to eat and Pokémon food can be expensive," he muttered, looking away. "It's about time for dinner anyway."

"Oh..." She scooped up Rockruff and got to her feet, stumbling quickly away from Lycanroc. "I-I'm just...gonna go get Rockruff taken care of." Keeping her troubled gaze focused on the Pokémon in her arms, Kalama bolted through the gate and back into Po Town. Not watching where she was going, she collided with someone and fell back, once again landing on her bum. "Owww..."

"Kalama!" A white-skinned hand entered her field of vision as she sat up. She looked up at its owner.

"Akalani?" With one arm still clutching Rockruff to her chest, she grabbed the albino male's hand, letting him pull her to her feet. Next to him, Asterios was in the process of standing up. So he must have been the one she'd bumped into. "Aster! Sorry! I didn't see you."

"It's cool. Your Rockruff isn't looking great. You must be worried," Aster replied.

"We were just training. There was lots of Yungoos and some Gumshoos too. Rockruff got all worn out fighting 'em. I was on my way to the Pokémon Center."

"We'll go with you. It's on the way to dinner anyway," Aster offered.

"You sure?"

"It's not problem," Akalani assured her. "You should sit with us tonight too. I wanna know how you're settling into Skull."

"Well...okay." Kalama fell into step with the two, all three walking together towards the eating house. On the way, they stopped in the Pokémon Center so that Kalama could drop Rockruff off in the hands of the pair currently manning the counter.

Once at the eating house, each teenager grabbed himself or herself a plate of tonight's selection of food: pizza. Probably the buy-it-frozen-heat-it-at-home kind. But nobody in Team Skull could afford to be a picky eater. Food in hand, they wandered the rooms until they found a space to squeeze themselves into. Akalani and Aster ended up sharing a chair, but such a sight was commonplace to even Kalama by now. As they ate, Kalama complained about being awful at her lessons and, unlike Gladion, Akalani and Aster offered their sympathies and encouragement. She immersed herself fully in conversation with them, trying her best to forget the sound of Gumshoos's neck breaking and the way it had hung so limply in Lycanroc's mouth.

The end of dinner saw her headed back to the Pokémon Center to pick up Rockruff, with Akalani and Grim still accompanying her. Her Pokémon came charging out to meet her as soon as she passed through the doors, his tail wagging. She picked him up, cuddling him close and lavishing praise on him for his performance during their training as they left the Pokémon Center to head for the Shady House. "So I saw that station down the road. Heard there's a cop there?"

The abrupt change in conversation had much more of an impact on Akalani than on Aster. The albino scowled, looking aside and muttering "Nanu," bitterly. Kalama frowned curiously at Aster, who explained, "Officer Nanu's also the kahuna. Grim doesn't like him cause he picked Acerola to be a trial captain instead of him even though Grim basically lived at that trashed supermart that's full of Ghosts for, like, ten years. And now Acerola does her trial at the supermart."

"Oh..." It was Kalama's turn to scowl now, knowing that one of the Tapus' 'chosen ones' was so close by, and realizing that he was partially responsible for running Akalani out of what sounded like his home. Though if someone else had been the kahuna, maybe things would have gone differently. "Why can everything get traced back to those damn Tapus? Maybe Alola'd be better without 'em. No stupid Island Challenge to need those trials..."

"Bet everyone here agrees with you," Aster grumbled.

"I want the Island Challenge gone," Akalani agreed. A sly smile crept onto his face. "We already got some people who go to other islands and mess with trial goers to try to stop the Island Challenge. You should come next time, Kalama!"

"I'll think about it." Having reached the entrance hall of the Shady House, it was time for the trio to split up. Kalama said her goodnights to the boys, and they to her, before she headed for her room. Out of habit, she began a silent prayer to Tapu Lele, hoping to keep herself from having nightmares about the death of that Gumshoos. When she realized what she was doing, she stopped in disgust and shook her head.

She was the first one back to the room tonight. Just wanting to sleep now after the day she'd had, she climbed into bed and pulled the sheet over her head. Rockruff curled up against her side as Kalama began to silently count Mareep. She was asleep before the other girls returned.

* * *

 _LDR: Yaaaay another chapter. I think I'll have one more before the time skip. There's still two OCs to introduce after all._

 _Also, if you haven't guessed by now, this isn't some happy go lucky fic where Pokémon in battle have 'HP' and faint instead of dying. Pokémon kill other Pokémon. It happens. Like in this chapter._

 _Sorry this took so long! I hope y'all found the wait to be worth it! Drop a review, or a follow or a favorite if you haven't yet. You'll make my day._

 _LDR out!_


	7. Chapter 7

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 7**

 _LDR: Oof. Hit that nice, hard brick wall called writer's block while working on this. That's why it's so late. Luckily, I finally realized I could call the Hulk to smash through it. That is, I finally had an idea. So! Here you guys go!_

* * *

Sleep had not been a kind thing to Kalama. Despite having initially fallen asleep easily enough, she had awoken several times during the night after once again seeing Lycanroc snap Gumshoos's neck. Now she sat at breakfast, trying not to slump down facefirst into her bowl of cereal and take a nap right there at the table.

"You look exhausted, Kalama."

"Huh?!" Snapping herself out of her daze, the teen glanced at the previously empty spot beside her, a familiar woman now seated there and studying her with concern. "Nora... Didn't sleep good."

"Why not?" Nora asked, reaching out to push Kalama's head back up as it began to tilt down.

"Nightmares. I guess."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Kalama shrugged, poking at her cereal halfheartedly with her spoon. She yawned. "Rockruff and me, we trained yesterday. There was too many wild Pokémon for us. Gladion stepped in but instead of chasing off the last Gumshoos, his Lycanroc killed it. Broke its neck."

"Was that the first time you'd seen something die?" When the teen nodded, Nora wrapped an arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "I don't know what to say, Kalama. That's just part of life. Wild Pokémon kill other wild Pokémon all the time."

"I know. Wild Pokémon ain't got food like Trainers' Pokémon do. They gotta hunt. I just...never saw something die before. And it was so close to me too. And the sound..." She pushed her bowl away.

"You're practically falling asleep here, Kalama. Why don't you go back to bed? Try to get at least a little more sleep. I'll talk to your teachers." Kalama nodded gratefully and stood up. Nora stood with her, smiling. "I'll walk back with you to make sure you don't fall asleep on the way."

"Thanks."

The two left the eating house together, Kalama trudging along and Nora sticking close by in case the teen seemed about to collapse. There was silence for a few seconds, before, "So you were training with Gladion yesterday?"

Kalama nodded. "Yeah."

"I've heard you've been sitting with him at meals too."

"Mhmm."

"That's really nice. He needs more friends. But when I checked at dinner last night, he was alone. Was it because of the Gumshoos incident?"

"Well...I guess. I woulda stuck around and walked to dinner with him except for that. So I went ahead. And then bumped into Akalani and Aster, and they said I should eat with them, so...I went to eat with them. I kinda feel like I ditched Gladion though. Guess I should say sorry."

Nora shook her head. "It's too late for that, Kalama. He's gone."

"Gone?"

"He left. About an hour ago. Gladion rarely ever sticks around Po Town for long. I think he must have his own place to stay. He shows up every few months to check in with things, stays a few days or sometimes a whole week, then leaves again."

"Months?" Kalama stopped, staring at Nora. "He ain't gonna be back for months?"

"Most likely." Nora patted her shoulder with a gentle smile. "But maybe he'll come back sooner because he'll have a friend waiting for him now."

Kalama shrugged as they continued walking. "Dunno. He says we ain't friends. I think we are but if he just left and didn't tell...maybe I'm wrong."

"It's more likely that he just isn't sure how to act. I don't think he's ever really had a friend before. I know he hasn't managed to connect with anyone in Skull. Until you came along."

"Connected with me?" the teen asked, looking and sounding full of doubt.

Nora chuckled. "Of course. He let you sit with him for meals. And you were training with him yesterday. No one around his own age has made much of an effort to get close to him, Kalama. The only Skulls who have tried are some of the adults, such as myself, Guzma, and Plumeria. He might not admit it, but I think he likes that you've been trying to make friends with him. Here's your room." She guided the tired girl inside. "I hope you sleep better than last night. Even if you're up before your free time, I'll make sure that all of your teachers give you the day off." Nora backed out of the room, quietly pulling the door shut behind her.

Kalama sighed and set about kicking off her shoes and getting into bed.

* * *

Days had passed. Her nights had improved and her lessons had begun again the day after her day off. Without Gladion to sit with at meals, she was beginning to rotate randomly between sitting with other people she knew. Most of the time, she sat with Akalani and Aster. But sometimes she switched it up and found Emily, or Naoki, or JD. She'd even spent one lunch with Setsuna before the two went on to their battling lesson with Jacko together.

But today all of the spots around her friends were full. Either that, or she simply couldn't find them. Feeling a little frustrated, she scanned the crowd for an empty seat and plonked herself down next to a stocky, dark-skinned male with black hair, done up in thick cornrows. He looked over at her curiously with brown, almond-shaped eyes and she shrugged. "Can't find a seat. This one was open. It ain't being saved, right?"

"Nah, it ain't being saved. Name's Damien Ballard. How 'bout you?"

"Kalama Iekika. Hi Damien."

"Hi Kalama. Hey, nice tattoo." He grinned, pointing to the Skull symbol on her forearm.

She grinned back. "Thanks. Had it done when I got my ears pierced. Kinda spur of the moment thing."

"Looks cool. Been thinking about one myself, but I'm still not sure about it."

She shrugged as she shoved a spoonful of macaroni and cheese into her mouth, chewing and swallowing before offering her reply. "It hurt, but not too bad. Might actually get another. Not yet, but sometime almost soon."

The person seated on Kalama's other side got up and left, finished with her lunch. The empty spot didn't remain empty for long, but Kalama was too busy wolfing down her food to pay much attention. Until Damien reached around her, holding out his fist. "Yo, Grim. 'Sup?"

Kalama looked up, glancing beside her. Sure enough, there sat the albino male. He bumped his own fist against Damien's before grinning. The same sly expression that he'd had when he had told Kalama about Team Skull's tendency to mess with trial goers. "A trial goer's come to Tapu Village. Someone down near Aether House saw a girl with a Challenge Amulet go in to find Acerola yesterday. Overheard the girl say she wanted to train before taking on Acerola's challenge, and she planned on doing it two days later. That means tomorrow! Me and Aster are going to the old supermarket to mess this trial up. Eli's coming too. You guys up for it?"

"Gotta get me outta my classes. But I'd love to come," Kalama replied.

"This is why nobody likes Skull," Damien muttered.

"Not coming?" Akalani asked.

"Nah, bro. I'm part of the team, and we're all in this together. I'll come."

"Alright. Hey, I'll talk to your teachers, Kalama. Or I'll find someone to. Who's the adult for your part of the Shady House?"

"Nora," she answered.

"I'm going to find her now." Akalani stood back up and hurried off.

Kalama watched with a grin. "I hope he ate first. Showed up, talked, then left."

"Didn't bring food with him when he sat down. I'm sure he's fine," Damien observed.

"So does everyone in Skull know each other? Lots of us here but I keep meeting people who know other people I meet."

"Well most people just know the oddballs. Like Grim. Everyone recognizes him cause the dude's whiter than paper. Setsuna's all burned and always wears that hat. Gladion's alone all the time. Me, I'm just real tall." Damien peered at her. "Bet everyone's gonna know you too with those eyes. Yellow!"

Kalama blinked and glanced away. "I know it's weird but there ain't anything wrong with it," she muttered, poking at her macaroni and cheese with her spoon.

"Ah crap. I didn't mean it like that, Kalama. It's cool! Never seen yellow eyes before!"

"It's real rare. It's a thing running in my family though. My dad told me that usually one in a generation has them." She stood, grabbing her empty bowl. "Gotta hurry up and get to my battle lesson. If I'm late, Jacko will never let me skip tomorrow."

"Sure. See ya around, Kalama. And if you ever want a training partner, look for me." He grinned at her, and she grinned back before departing.

* * *

Her battling lesson passed without a hitch. Kalama even stopped herself from grumbling and managed to put even more effort than usual into the match against Setsuna. Now she was in her free time, and accompanying Nora to the Shady House, where her teachers had been gathered. "When you get their permission to skip tomorrow, you'll have to meet up with the rest of your group and talk to Guzma about leaving. Don't worry about that. He rarely says no." Nora smiled down at the teen, who smiled back and nodded. "Convincing your teachers will be the toughest part since you missed your lessons a few days ago. But it'll be good for you to get out and do some team activities, so I'll make sure they let you."

"Thanks, Nora." Kalama followed behind the woman as she was led through the Shady House. Up the stairs and down a hallway, stopping by a door about halfway down. They stepped into the room to find all three of Kalama's teachers waiting there. Wolf sat on the single bed, avoiding looking at anyone in typical Wolf fashion. Why he did that, Kalama still didn't know. JD was leaning against the wall, arms folded across their chest, shooting the occasional stink eye in Jacko's direction, while he ignored them.

"Kalama's been invited to join a group going to mess up a trial that's taking place at the Abandoned Megamart tomorrow. She'll have to miss her lessons tomorrow," Nora explained once the trio turned to face her.

JD was first to speak, and offered a shrug as they did so. "I don't care. Kalama knows all of Rockruff's moves now so anything else is extra. She can miss as many lessons as she wants. More free time for me."

"I can do one on one work with Setsuna. I don't know when I became his official battle teacher but apparently I am," Jacko grumbled. "But Kalama better battle, and I want a report from someone in the group on how she does. If I'm not satisfied with what I hear, you make up the missed lesson during your free time, Kalama."

"I'll let someone know," Kalama replied.

Nora looked at Wolf, who glanced to the side. "Wolf?"

He sighed. "Missing one lesson won't make a difference. She's not cut out to sneak around and steal. If she had any hope of being decent at it, she would have shown at least some results by now." Kalama tried not to feel hurt by that. "Kalama, once you're back, we'll try focusing on pickpocketing instead."

Nora beamed at Kalama. "That was easier than expected. Well, you go on. Your friends should be waiting for you by the stairs. Grim mentioned it when he came to find me earlier to ask me to speak with your teachers."

Kalama smiled broadly, nodding and hurrying out of the room. Luckily she wasn't far from the main stairway, and only had to turn two corners to get back. Otherwise she would have been hopelessly lost. Sure enough, she spotted a group of four people hanging around on the landing, where the staircase split between the left and right side of the mansion. Three were familiar faces: Akalani, Aster, and Damien. The fourth must be the one that Akalani had named at lunch. Eli, if she remembered correctly. Short and skinny, his brown hair was in a low, messy ponytail. He wore the typical male uniform, but underneath the tank top was a black t-shirt. "Hey guys!" she called as she ran up.

All four turned to look at her, the three that she knew smiling and Eli just studying her silently. "Kalama! So can you come?" Akalani asked eagerly.

"Yeah I can."

"Awesome!" Aster held out his fist, and Kalama bumped it with her own. "This will be fun."

"Hey, c'mon. We better go let Guzma know we're leaving." Akalani took the lead, heading up the rest of the stairs. The others followed, with Aster and Damien joining the albino male and chatting and Eli trailing behind, just listening.

Kalama dropped back a little to walk next to Eli. "Hey, I'm Kalama. Eli? That's what Akalani said your name was."

"Right." He smiled. "Nice to meet you Kalama."

"Hey!" The unfamiliar voice turned Kalama's attention to the front of the group. They stood in front of a door, a burly man blocking their way. Not quite as large as Damien, but still large enough to look intimidating. Damien stepped forward to meet him. "Gotta tell me this month's passwords to get through. Guzma's favorite move?"

"Beat Up," Damien answered.

"Guzma's favorite Pokémon?"

"Golisopod."

"Guzma's favorite drink?"

"Tapu Cocoa."

"You sure about all that?" The guard leaned forward slightly. Damien also leaned down, suddenly butting heads with the guard, quite literally, and shouting "No!" right in his face. The guard laughed and stepped aside. "You're Skulls alright. Go 'head."

Kalama followed the others through the door, not sure whether to be amused or befuddled by the entire proceeding. That thought vanished as she saw what was on the other side of the doorway. A balcony with a makeshift bridge of wooden boards that led to part of the roof. "We're going on the freakin' roof?!" A ripple of laughter passed through the group as they began to shuffle single file across the boards.

"It's safe," Eli assured her.

"Only way to get to Guzma's room," Aster added from directly in front of her, pointing to a window that had had its panes removed so it acted as a doorway.

"I just hope we're catching him in a good mood," Akalani muttered. When Kalama looked over her shoulder at him curiously, he explained, "Guzma's great. I bet you know by now. He treats us all real good. But sometimes he gets angry..."

"He's scary when he's angry," Eli summed up.

"He'd never take it out on one of us," Aster said firmly.

Damien nodded from the front of the line. "He only shouts and breaks things."

"And if he was mad, we'd hear it by now," Aster added.

Kalama relaxed, hopping off the plank pathway as they reached the roof. "Good. I ain't a fan of shouting and smashing."

"Yo, Boss," Damien said, peeking through the window.

"Don't just stand around out there," answered Guzma's voice.

Damien moved aside and gestured to the empty window. "Grim, this one's a supermarket trial, yeah? All yours, bro."

Akalani carefully maneuvered around the others so he could climb through the window first. Damien followed, then Aster, Kalama, and Eli brought up the rear. Akalani stepped forward to speak. "You heard a trial's happening at the old supermarket tomorrow, Boss? We wanna go mess it up."

"Boat's out right now. Sorry squirts. Y'all know I'm happy to let you wreck trials when you want." There sat Guzma in a purple armchair. Shoved against one wall was a bed with messy sheets, and at its head was a shelf full of bottles. She couldn't help but privately wonder if any of them contained alcohol. A graffiti-covered painting hung on the wall behind Guzma's chair, and a small pile of light green crystals was scattered in one corner of the room.

"We can get our own way across the water," Akalani offered.

Guzma propped his fist against his cheek, elbow resting on the arm of his chair. "Y'all go ahead then. Stay safe. Don't get caught. If you're not back in two days, someone'll go look for you."

"We'll be safe, Boss!" Akalani promised. "Thanks!"

The group turned to begin filing out of the room. Kalama was about to climb through the empty window frame when Guzma's voice stopped her. "New girl. Wait." She froze, turning around to face him. "What's your name again?"

"Kalama Iekika, sir– uhh, Boss– er, Guzma."

She could hear snickering from the window, making her blush in embarrassment. Guzma outright laughed. "I don't need some fancy title. 'Boss' works. You settling in good?"

"Y-Yeah. Boss. It's great. I'm enjoying it. Uh...thanks. For, y'know...making me join."

"You needed it." He waved a hand at her in a sloppy shooing motion. "Now scat. Go get ready to stick it to one of Alola's moldy old traditions."

She smiled. "You got it Boss!" Turning around, she hopped through the window, rejoining the group waiting for her. "Let's go!"

"Hey, hold on. We have to figure out transportation first. Anyone got fliers?" Akalani asked as they made their way across the wooden planks, back to the balcony.

"Shanice, my Mandibuzz, can carry someone. I'm too big for her, but someone Kalama's size ain't a problem," Damien offered. "She's scrawny."

"Hey!" Kalama frowned.

"I have a Vikavolt," Aster said. "He can carry someone small enough. Like Eli."

"Sure. I'll leave my Sneasel, Furis, on the ground. He can use Icy Wind to freeze over part of the water for you," Eli replied as they all piled back into the Shady House.

"Mimikyu can Mimic that to add more ice. Make it stronger." Akalani patted one of his Pokeballs. Presumably Mimikyu's.

"I ain't got a Pokémon who can help. Rockruff can't fly or make ice," Kalama mumbled.

"Don't worry about it." Aster smiled. "So Kalama and Eli can go by air since they're the littlest and the rest of us can use the ice."

"Good we got fliers. Not sure ice would hold long enough for all five of us with Alola's weather," Akalani observed. Eli scoffed something about Alola under his breath. His complaint got no comments. "We don't need to leave until tomorrow morning. Everyone meet up outside the wall...six in the morning?"

"Uuugh, so early," Aster groaned. "Alright."

Eli, Damien, and Kalama also agreed. The only girl of the group suddenly jogged to get ahead of the others, turning around to walk backwards so she could face them. "It's about dinner, ain't it? If we hurry, we can all grab seats together." A chorus of 'sure's and 'why not's rose from the four boys, before Akalani reached out to grab her wrist and tug her towards them. "Hey!"

"You were about to hit the stairs!"

She turned around, eyes wide at the sight of the staircase. "Oh. Thanks."

"Don't stop!" Damien laughed, passing her to start down the stairs. "Let's go get dinner!"

Laughing and chatting and shoving, the five hurried down and out of the front doors, on their way to the eating house. Surrounded by her friends, new and newer, Kalama grinned. Even if her lessons were annoying or frustrating, or sometimes both, and Gladion had just up and left without telling her, she really was enjoying herself among Team Skull. Life felt almost perfect...

* * *

 _LDR: Heeeelp I had to write a canon character again! I hate writing canon characters... I always feel like I'm messing up somehow. Hopefully I didn't write Guzma too horribly._

 _Anyhoot! Final two OCs here. Damien belongs to FinalPower and Eli (full name Elliot) was made by randomvampkid._

 _I think just one more chapter to go before the time skip. And then stuff. Will. Happen. You know the shit's gonna hit the fan at some point when the main character starts feeling like life is perfect. At least in my stories.  
_

 _That's it for this chapter. Drop a review if you liked it. LDR out!_


	8. Chapter 8

**No One Special**

 **Chapter 8**

 _LDR: Who's ready for Kalama to be a bully? Not me. On the other hand, messing up the trial was fun to write. Mostly because I like writing battle scenes. So let's get to reading!_

 _Sorry this took so long everybody. I used to write on the bus ride to and from school, but ever since I got my license, I've been driving myself, so I lost that writing time. Also at home I've been playing Warframe again, which further eats up writing time._

* * *

"I wanna cross the ice on the way back!" Kalama shrieked, dangling from the talons of Damien's Mandibuzz, Shanice. The large, vulture-like Pokémon glanced down at her passenger, looking very unamused by the teen's yells. The boys all laughed.

"Don't like heights?" Eli asked, parallel to the water and clasped by the legs of Aster's Vikavolt.

"Heights are fine! I ain't scared!" she shot back defensively. "This just don't feel that safe!"

"She ain't gonna drop ya," Damien called as he leapt from a slowly dwindling ice platform onto a newly created one. He shuffled over, making room for Eli's Sneasel, Furis, and Akalani's Mimikyu, as well as Akalani himself and Aster.

"Don't feel like that," Kalama muttered. Shanice released her grip on one of the girl's arms, eliciting a scream.

Damien looked up reproachfully. "Shanice!" The Mandibuzz complied with the unspoken command to carry her passenger properly, Kalama now hanging by both arms again.

"Damien! Your Pokémon is evil!" Kalama complain.

"Aw, c'mon. Don't say that. Shanice ain't bad."

"Should we go over the plan while we're on the way?" Eli asked.

"Not much to it. Acerola should be hanging around outside. Me and Damien and Eli will keep her busy while Kalama and Aster get in and do whatever to stop the Trainer from getting to the Totem Pokémon," Akalani replied.

Everyone voiced their understanding and agreement, just before Aster pointed ahead of them. "There's the shore."

"Don't land there. Head for the shore by the Megamart." Akalani gestured in the direction they would have to go. Almost in sync, the group turned, moving just within sight of the shoreline. Their chatter died down at that point, each one feeling suddenly that there was a need for an attempt at stealth.

They landed at the beach soon after, and the three Pokémon were recalled to their Pokeballs. It was mostly empty, except for two people having a battle further down the shore, apparently too focused on it to notice the group of Skulls. Kalama paused to watch briefly, studying the two Pokémon. She recognized on as a Mareanie, like Jacko's, but the other was unfamiliar. Tan in color and canine in appearance, with a white ruff that had rocks poking out, it actually reminded her of Rockruff quite a lot. Whatever it was, it was fast. The Mareanie was clearly struggling to keep up.

"We're gonna climb up there and then get over that fence." She turned, gaze following Akalani's pointing finger towards a section of the destroyed road that sloped down to the sand below. "Gotta move fast over the fence cause I'm sure Acerola will see us by then."

"I can have Shanice fly over it to distract Acerola while the rest of us climb over the fence."

"Damien should go first then. I'll go second and Mimikyu and me can join the battle once we're over. Then Eli can climb over third. Once we're all fighting, Kalama, you help Aster get over and then the two of you make a run for the Megamart."

They hurried across the sand, and managed to make their way up the impromptu ramp formed by the road without incident. As Akalani had predicted, they were spotted when they reached the fence they had to climb over. Much to Kalama's surprise, Acerola looked young. Almost a child, even. And she seemed to really like the color purple, considering she wore it from her hair to her dress. If she had been wearing anything on her feet, that would probably be purple too.

"Team Skull?!"

"Damien!" Akalani called.

"On it. Shanice, up and over!" Damien threw the Pokeball up and it burst open above the fence. With a shriek, the Mandibuzz emerged, dive-bombing Acerola. As the purple-haired girl stumbled back and grabbed a Pokeball of her own, Damien leapt at the fence, scrambling to the top in a matter of seconds and coming down almost as quickly. Eli and Akalani followed, the former calling out Furis again and the latter Mimikyu once they were on the other side. As the battle broke out between the Sneasel, Mandibuzz, and Mimikyu and Acerola's trio of Pokémon — one of which Kalama recognized as the balloon-like Drifloon and another as Palossand, a possessed sand castle, though the third goblin-like creature with gemstone eyes was completely unfamiliar to her — she turned to Aster.

"Uh...so I guess I'll just hold onto you and we climb together."

"Sure."

She went first, wedging her toes into holes between the slender chain-links and grabbing on with one hand. The other hand, she reached down with, fingers clutching at Aster's jacket on the side that he lacked an arm. Stabilized on that side now, he copied her position on the fence, toes stuck in holes and hand clinging to a chain. They made their way up the fence more slowly than the others had, and were reduced to a crawling pace on the way down. They made it without incident though, and took off for the doors of the Megamart, catching Acerola's attention.

"You won't get in the way of this trial! Sableye–"

"Furis, Taunt it," Eli interrupted. His Sneasel cried out a challenge to the Sableye, smirking and waving it on with his claws, forcing the other Pokémon's attention onto himself and enraging it into attacking, giving Kalama and Aster the window they needed to reach the doors and enter the run-down building.

Inside the Megamart, Kalama and Aster paused to catch their breath before looking around the dimly lit area. They were near a row of cash registers. Nothing really looked out of the ordinary except for a faint smoky haze above one check-out aisle. The pair went to investigate and found a fainted Ghastly lying on the conveyor belt. Holding their breaths, they passed through the gasses being emitted by the round Pokémon, headed for the back of the store since the front appeared empty. A sudden, startled yelp told them that they were going the right way. Adjusting their courses slightly, they rounded the corner of a shelf...

...and were each caught in the face by a giant, hovering Pikachu plushie. Kalama thought she heard a faint cackle as the plushie floated back, though she couldn't be quite sure because Aster had cursed in surprise rather loudly from beside her.

In front of them, the trial-goer spun around with a gasp. Wide pine green eyes fixed on the two Skulls, strands of lighter green hair whipping across her face. Then she relaxed, reaching for a Pokeball. "Oh. Just some Team Skull thugs."

That stung Kalama more than a little. Team Skull had saved her _life_. They had given her a new home, new friends and even family. How dare this girl blow them off like they were nothing? Look at them like they were a simple annoyance, a Ratatta scampering around her feet? "You dissin' us?" she growled, stepping forward, anger plain in every tense line of her body. She wanted to hurt somebody. That confused her. Why was she so worked up about this? She knew that the entire Alola region looked down on Team Skull. Why did that only make her scoff, but one stranger's comment sent her into a rage?

"Maybe I am. It's not like you can do anything about it. Your team is nothing more than a bumbling group of idiots. Your battle skills are pathetic too."

"Easy, Kalama," Aster cautioned as she stepped forward, grabbed her shoulder to pull her back. "You can't let your judgement get clouded by your anger. Shouting at her isn't gonna do much either. We gotta prove her wrong in a way she'll get." He released her to grab a Pokeball. "Take out all her Pokémon. That'll ruin the trial for her."

"Funny. You sure you don't wanna call the rest of your team and make things a little more even?"

"Shut up," Kalama snapped, letting out Rockruff.

"That's what you've got? Is that really it? This'll be easier than I thought." The green-haired girl let out her own Pokémon, a blue and white seal with extensions like braided pigtails from its head.

"Vikavolt."

"Marowak," she countered, letting out her second Pokémon only a couple seconds after Aster's giant beetle hit the field. With a darkly colored body, a skull covering its head (or maybe it was its head?), and a fiery-tipped bone in one hand, Kalama was just glad Marowak wasn't larger. A giant one would be terrifying.

"Kalama, that's a Fire type. Try to handle it with Rockruff. Vikavolt and I can take out the Brionne," Aster commanded. "Vikavolt, Thunderbolt." Electricity crackled between Vikavolt's pincers before streaking out towards Brionne. And yet it abruptly changed direction, being drawn into Marowak's raised bone. "Shit."

"What was that, Aster?"

"Its ability must be Lightning Rod. It's just going to absorb any Electric attacks and use them to increase its own ranged power," he explained as Vikavolt zipped out of the way of a forceful stream of bubbles. He held out Vikavolt's Pokeball, recalling the large Bug, replacing it with a small, dark blob that had some pink spikes. "Pyukumuku, Toxic. Both of them."

"Rockruff, if that Marowak is a Fire type, then...uh, Rock Throw! Get it!"

"Knock them all back, Marowak. Brionne, stop the Pyukumuku. Aqua Jet." Brionne shot towards Pyukumuku, surrounded by water. Something white emerged from Pyukumuku, forming a large hand that engulfed the seal when it struck it. Threads of glowing purple wound through the white, converging upon Brionne, who cried out.

Kalama and Rockruff were faring much more poorly. Marowak has swung its bone like a baseball bat, sending the hail of glowing rocks right back at Rockruff, who had been forced to leap back, only to be caught by a follow-up Shadow Ball and flung across the Megamart. "Rockruff!" Kalama spun on her heel, rushing off to search for the canine. Her heart pounded as she spotted the section of fallen shelves where Rockruff had landed. He wasn't stuck beneath them, was he? A pile of bags of moldy bread shifted, the canine's head popping up from the center. The rest of his body soon followed and he wagged his tail in assurance that he was fine. Kalama let out a breath she hadn't even realized she'd been holding and scooped Rockruff up into her arms, hugging him close. He nuzzled her happily, his rocky ruff scraping against her neck and shoulder. "We're gonna get 'em back for that, ain't we, boy?" she whispered fiercely. "We ain't gonna let her get away with insulting our family and getting you like that." Rockruff barked in agreement, wiggling out of her arms to drop to the floor and race back to the battle, his earns pinned back and his teeth on full display. Kalama hurried after him. As they neared, there was a burst of electricity, crackling over the battlefield. Had Marowak been taken down? "Aster, what'd we miss?" she asked as she stopped beside him, Rockruff jumping right back into the battle to charge at Brionne, who was moving more slowly than expected and already looked just about beaten from the Poison, and snap his jaws closed around its tail with a Thunder Fang, finishing it off.

"When Pyukumuku caught Marowak in Toxic, I had it add Gastro Acid to get rid of Lightning Rod and Soak to make it a Water type. Venom Drench weakened them and slowed them down, and I switched back to Vikavolt for a Discharge," he recounted.

"Woah." She just blinked at him, eyes wide, making him laugh.

"Shit," their opponent hissed, recalling Brionne, and then recalling Marowak as it dropped weakly to its knees, the Toxic bringing an end to its part in the battle. "I knew I should have brought more Pokémon to this Trial." She lifted her remaining two Pokeballs. "I'm not going to let you losers beat me though. That's just too embarrassing. Ribombee, Meowth!"

Kalama had seen many Meowths before, so she barely glanced at the dark-furred feline, instead eyeing the Ribombee. It was almost like a very tiny, very fuzzy yellow person with wings, she thought. If it had wings, it was probably a Flying type, right? "Rockruff, Rock Throw!"

"You deal with the Ribombee. I'll take the Meowth. This'll be easy. Bug Buzz!"

"Sure." As the faintly buzzing waves of energy flowed towards the Meowth, Kalama turned her focus to the Ribombee. This was going to be like two separate battles, and she couldn't be distracted by what Aster was doing. Unlike their opponent, who had to keep switching her attention back and forth, looking quite frustrated. Ribombee dipped and swerved around the glowing rocks, and at its Trainer's command released an Energy Ball. "Get outta the way, Rockruff!"

"Put on the pressure, Ribombee. Just keep go– Meowth, get up!"

Rockruff darted around behind a shelf as Ribombee released Energy Ball after Energy Ball towards him, the green orbs smacking into the shelf and making it tip back dangerously. Kalama cursed. "Move, Rockruff! Come out and Rock Throw again!" Rockruff came skidding around the corner of the shelf, ending up behind Ribombee, and letting loose another hail of glowing stones. This time, they slammed into the little flying Pokémon, who had been caught by surprise and went fluttering to the ground.

The Trainer spun herself back towards Ribombee, calling for her Pokémon to get back up. Once it was in the air again, she scowled. "Gotta take one out so I can focus. Ribombee, Attract."

"Huh?" What kind of move was that? It didn't dawn on her until there was a large pink heart floating towards Rockruff that it probably wasn't good. "Outta the way!" But her order had come too late. The canine had tensed up, and even begun the leap, but the heart caught him, bursting apart into a shower of glitter. Rockruff froze, turning to stare at Ribombee with hearts in his eyes, ignoring Kalama's shout to get moving.

"You're out of this battle." The Trainer and her Ribombee had begun to move in sync, crouching before straightening up, hands pressed together and lifted above their heads before coming apart and spreading out. "Bloom Doom."

"Shit!" Aster looked over. "Vikavolt–"

"Meowth, keep it occupied." Vikavolt buzzed angrily and turned away as the feline jumped on him, aiming a Scratch at his wings.

The section of the supermarket that Rockruff and Ribombee had been battling in was covered in an illusory carpet of flowers. A green light had surrounded Ribombee, and now suddenly burst outwards in an explosion of energy that caught Rockruff, flinging him back towards Kalama, who reached out to catch him only to then be knocked to her butt as well by the Z-Move. "Damn," she hissed. "That _hurts_."

"That's Meowth down," Aster said suddenly. Vikavolt had managed to throw Meowth off his back and right into the rapidly expanding energy. Now, as it was fading, the giant beetle moved in, pincers closing around Ribombee in a Vice Grip before knocking it out with a Flash Cannon at point blank range.

"No!" the Trainer screamed, stomping her foot as she recalled both downed Pokémon. "I can't believe this! How could I lose to a pair of bumbling idiots like some random Skull Grunts? Your entire team is nothing more than a joke!"

It was with a shaky hand that Kalama lifted Rockruff's Pokeball, the red beam shooting out to engulf him and suck him back in. Then she stood, passing the Pokeball to Aster right before charging at the other girl. "Shut _up_! Insult Skull again, go 'head! I dare you! I'll smash your face in, dammit. You ain't got a clue what these people done for me! I ain't gonna stand around and listen to you dissing the ones that saved my life!" She drew back her fist, ready to throw a wild punch, but a hand clamped down on her elbow, stopping her. She glanced back furiously just as she felt her feet leave the ground. "Lemme go, Damien!"

"Sorry Kalama. You really ain't helping Skull's image, just going around and punching people in the face," Damien replied calmly. "Hurting her ain't gonna change her mind. Just make it worse."

Now the Trainer had recovered from her shock, and suddenly screamed right back at Kalama, "You crazy bitch! What was that about?" She looked around with a scowl. The whole group was gathered there, not just Kalama, Aster, and Damien. The girl skittered around a shelf and bolted for the doors.

As she was set back down and released, Kalama glanced down, face heating up even as her rage ebbed away. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's cool." Two pairs of arms encircled her, and she looked up to see Damien and Akalani leaning close. Aster tugged Eli over as well, and the five shared a group hug. "Just means you really do care about Skull," Akalani continued. The girl grinned.

"You must have run Acerola off, huh?" Aster noted.

"Yeah. We got lucky she didn't have a full team though," Eli sighed. "It took a lot. We should probably go. I bet at least one is headed for the nearest police station. We might not be able to make it back over the water yet. Furis is tired."

"Vikavolt could use some rest too," Aster said. "Let's find somewhere to lay low for a bit. Once our Pokémon have had a chance to rest, we can get back."

The group hug broke apart so that they could leave the supermart, Akalani lingering within the doors for a few seconds longer. Kalama dropped back to walk next to him as they headed back to the beach. "Hey. So that's where you grew up, huh?"

"Home sweet home," he confirmed. "Well, one of them, now that I've got Skull."

"Hey, check that out." Damien nudged then both with the back of his hand, then pointed down the beach. "We can't leave yet. Still got work to do."

Kalama turned to look, frowning curiously. It looked like the battle that had been going on earlier had been concluded. The Trainer with the canine Pokémon was gone, but the one with the Mareanie had stuck around, and was being rather loud, much to the displeasure of her Pokémon. "–wasted so much Tapudamned time surfing on that stupid Mantine for BP to get you special moves from the tutors! I've thrown so many TMs at you! But you're still useless! Stop being so slow! You'll be lucky if you ever see another battle again as anything but fodder!"

As the Trainer lifted a foot and the Mareanie cowered away, Kalama lost it. Sand kicked up into the others' faces as she bolted towards the scene, tackling the Trainer. "Were you gonna kick that Mareanie? _Were you gonna frickin' kick that Mareanie?_ What is wrong with you? How could you treat your Pokémon like that?"

"What the Distortion World? Who are you?" The two females fell to the sand, tussling furiously. "Get off me, bitch!"

"Damien?" she heard Eli ask.

"Yo, I ain't stupid. You get her outta the fight this time."

"She's angry today," Aster remarked. "Do you think she's...y'know. _That_ time?"

There came a few quiet snickers from the boys that Kalama barely heard. But she was too focused on trying not to have her nose broken to say anything. She hadn't thought about the fact that she knew nothing about fighting when she'd jumped on the other girl. Luckily for her, her opponent seemed to be in the same boat. The two were rolling around together, nails digging at skin, hair being tugged violently, fists flying.

"What are you doing? Are you insane?" the other girl screamed, right in Kalama's face.

She stopped herself from flinching back at the sheer volume and shouted in return, "Why were you gonna kick your Pokemon?"

"Damned thing lost me that battle, even though Mareanie has the type advantage over Lycanroc! I was teaching her a lesson!"

"Teaching 'em by hurtin' 'em ain't right! Don't you care 'bout your Pokémon?"

"They're my pathway to fame and fortune! I don't need ones that can't fight properly!"

Kalama screeched and shoved her thumb against the other girl's eye. "That ain't right!"

Her opponent stumbled back, one hand covering her injured eye. Sirens began to wail in the distance, and the group of boys waiting nearby let out a variety of colorful curses. "Kalama! Cops! Just grab the Mareanie and let's run!" Akalani shouted.

Kalama tackled the Trainer again, this time doing a quick search of the Pokeballs on her belt to find the empty one. She grabbed it, spun towards the Mareanie and recalled it, then took off running, following her fleeing teammates.

* * *

"Ow! Ain't gotta press so hard!" Kalama yelped as Nora's fingers probed at her forearm. "I told you, ain't anything broken!"

"That was stupid, Kalama," Nora scolded. "You could have been seriously injured." She shook her head, stepping back. "Luckily for you, I think there will just be bruises. If it starts to hurt too much, put some ice on it." Her expression softened, and she glanced at the Pokeball that the teen was clutching. "That was good of you, though. Stepping in to help that Pokémon."

"It just made me angry that Mareanie was gonna get hurt for a stupid reason," Kalama mumbled. "I woulda been dead a while ago without Rockruff. Pokémon are so important to everyone's lives. I hate it when they ain't getting treated right. It's really shitty of people."

"I know. I agree." Nora turned to leave, then paused and glanced over her shoulder. "You should go to dinner now. But first, main stairwell. Up the stairs, to the left, take the second right, the last door on the right." She smiled as Kalama tilted her head, confused. "Just follow those directions." Then she was gone.

Kalama looked down at Mareanie's Pokeball, then attached it to her belt, beside Rockruff's. She left her room, making her way to the main stairwell and following Nora's directions. Stopping outside the door, she tapped against it with her knuckles. A few seconds later, it swung open and a familiar — if surprising — face greeted her. "Gladion? You're back?" Hadn't Nora said he usually spent months away? This was early, wasn't it?

"Oh. It's you."

The door began to close, but Kalama stepped forward and caught it with her hand. "H-Hold on. Um...that last time, when you helped me train... I kinda ditched you after. Sorry. I didn't mean to. It was just, uh...your Lycanroc snapping that Gumshoos's neck...kinda scared me. But I feel kinda bad that I sort of accidentally-on-purpose ditched you after that. It's dinner time now, though, so how 'bout I make up for ditching you?" She smiled. He scrutinized her for a few seconds, then gave a small nod and stepped out into the hall, closing the door behind him. Kalama's smile blossomed into a small grin as the two started walking, and soon enough she had launched into a retelling of her 'epic adventure' at the trial site. Gladion was silent, but if she'd ever paused to glanced back at him, Kalama might have caught the faint upward tilt to the corners of his mouth.

* * *

 _LDR: Well that got long. And this is finally the last chapter before the timeskip. That's all I got. See you next time guys!_


End file.
